The Frog That Changed My Life!

...well, my way of thinking anyway!

On the day of Gabe's first birthday, I saved someone's life and in return they gave me some invaluable advice that changed my way of thinking and probably changed the course of my future. 

The life I saved, was that of a green frog. Strangely, in the south of France, green frogs are hard to come by and you usually only see toads. So, to stumble upon a green frog in early November was more than just luck... it was meant to be and not only for me, but for that little froggy too.

Meet, Lulu.

 We rented the townhall to host Gabe's party and it was there that I found her, in the oven of all places,  clueless as to how she had gotten there! She was covered in fluff and bits of hair, so I gave her a wash and decided to take her home and release her in my garden. I was really glad that I checked inside the oven before just turning it on!

The next morning, Gabe and I ate leftover chocolate cake for breakfast and played inside for most of the morning, as it was raining. It was perfect frog weather. And, for jumping in mud puddles! By 11am, the rain had stopped and we decided to go and say good morning to our new found friend, but she was no where to be seen and that made my heart sink to my stomach. I wanted Gabe to meet the little life that I had saved, because, although she was only tiny, I wanted him to understand that everyone's life has value and that everybody has something to teach us, even small, green, frogs are special!

Later that day, the sun looked as though it was going to make an appearance and while Gabe was still dreaming sweet dreams, I decided to have a cup of tea outside on the front verandah, with my other baby, Isabelle {my cat, my black beauty}. I sat down in my chair, next to my roses and watched as the sun struggled to shine through a mass of purplish-grey clouds when next to me, amongst my succulents, I heard a little, two syllable croak. It actually sounded like a 'Thankyou'!

One of my pots of succulents and Isabelle.

 I stared at her. She stared at me. I sipped me tea. She didn't move. She didn't try to hide. She just sat there, next to me until I had finished my tea, then she delicately made herself invisible in the waxy leaves. 

That night, before I fell asleep, my mind drifted to that little froggy. I saw her when I closed my eyes. She was sitting next to me again, on the front veranda. Only, this time she wasn't in my pot full of succlents, she was sitting next to me on a mini-replica of my black, iron chair. She was wearing red lipstick, a pearl necklace, pink slippers and had a small cup of tea for herself. She said to me...

'You need to do MORE of what makes YOU happy! If you dont know what that is just yet, you need to find it and chase it' ... then she asked me if I had any lemon and we started talking about shades of red lipstick. 

I know it's weird. Crazy even. And it sounds completely rediculous now that it's in type, but, I think of her a lot whenever my motivation starts to dwindle. It doesn't really matter to me that it was a frog that gave me those words, all that matters is that I heard them; I got the message.

The next morning, I sat out side in the freezing cold drinking a cup of green tea {with lemon in it} hoping that she would pop her little head out and croak good morning, but she didn't. Nor the next day. Or the one after that. I did seen her again, on the odd occasion and in the same pot of succulents. She did pretty much the same thing each time I saw her, she sat there, staring for a while, then ever so daintily, made herself a part of the waxy plants.

My succulents!

That December, I escaped the French winter and took Gabe back to Australia to spend Christmas with my baby sis. We returned to France in February and I never saw my little froggy again. 

There have been times when Gabe and I have been exploring outside and he's yelled out, 'Look Mummy, a frog'! My heart has skipped a beat, I've rushed over to him only to find a baby toad! Sometimes, when I take a moment to myself just to breath, I sit outside and occasionally hear a small croak from my pot of succulents. I know it wouldn't be her, but I like the thought of it all the same. Maybe it's her froggy ghost checking up on me, making sure that I'm taking her advice!

So, today, this post is a dedication to her. It's my fourth consecutive post and blogging has been something that I have been wanting to do for such a long time. Plus, I have Scrumptious Little Things up and running now, so I am finally starting to achieve something. I've found my niche and chasing it. I dont know if my four posts makes me an official 'blogger' just yet, but I feel like I am doing something; something real. And, sharing something - yes, it may be a story about a lipstick-advice-giving-froggy but either way, this thing that I'm doing... it feels really good.