Savior

Connor has a favorite shirt. It is a beige button up shirt with a collar. On the front pocket it has a blue lizard logo on it and then that same lizard full size on the back. It's his lizard shirt, and he loves it.

He goes lizard hunting in the back yard when he wears that shirt. He stands over by the tree where all the lizards live and shades his eyes with his hand, like he is looking far off into the distance, and looks for lizards.

So about two weeks ago I'm sitting in the living room and he comes racing in.

"Mommy! I found a little lizard!"
"Oh, really? That's cool." I say not really believing him because he was supposed to be drinking his milk in the kitchen. So I don't see how he found a lizard.
"Yeah! Come see!" He's very insistent and he takes my hand and pulls me into the kitchen. As we walk he says, "I was sitting in my green chair and then I looked over and I found a little lizard!"

We get to the kitchen and he points to a spot on the floor... and sure enough, there is a little lizard sitting there on the floor. See how little it was? Compare his size to the size of the grout line. It's just a tiny little thing.

It was perfectly still. I wasn't even sure it was alive but I tapped on the wall and it moved it's head ever so slightly to get a better listen. I wasn't sure what to do. I had no intention of killing it. Lizards eat crickets. We love lizards. So I just left him alone. It was time for us to go out anyways, so we left. When we came back he was gone.

I was telling this story to Larry and he said that he will probably die in the house. Which then I felt bad. I should have tried to catch him and put him outside. I should have put a glass over the top of him and then slid a piece of paper underneath. Then carefully carry the whole thing outside. That's what I should have done.

Well, a few days later I got my chance. I saw him on the blinds in the kitchen. He had one little hand on the window... like he was mourning the outside. Now that I had a plan, I knew what to do. I got my glass and tried to get him off the blinds so that I could catch him. It wasn't easy. I had to give the blinds a pretty good wiggle to get him to move. Then he fell off the window sill trying to get away from me and I was worried he was hurt. But he seemed fine as he scurried away. I chased him around the kitchen trying to get my glass down in front of him, but at the same time, not squish him. Somehow I managed to do it. He went into his frozen scared lizard state and I was able to get the paper under him and get him outside without further incident. I took him over to the tree where they all seem to hang out. As soon as I took the glass off he ran away into the bushes.

Ever since then the lizards seem more friendly around me. One even came and got a drink right in front of me while I was watering the trees. I think they know I'm lizard friendly. :)