Making a Name for Myself

I've done it.  I've become known about town as the (weird) Turtle Lady.  It started out innocently enough, as these things usually do.  But then it got out of hand, and I really only have myself to blame. 

Before J-Boy was diagnosed with Autism, we were seeing a counselor in hopes of teaching him some coping techniques to ward off emotional meltdowns.  She incorporated a cute turtle puppet and a little booklet called The Turtle Story by Eric Dlugokinski, Ph.D., "in which a wise old turtle teaches younger turtles to recognize and accept their feelings, pause and gain their composure, think about their options for action, and act on their best choice."  J-Boy seemed to buy into the idea, with a bit of a literal interpretation, and to this day will sometimes "turtle" when he needs to escape a situation or make himself feel less vulverable.

If there is one thing we've learned on this journey through Autism-Land, it's capitalize on what works and use lots of positive reinforcement.  And so we brought home a turtle, Kooper, for a family pet.

Then we brought home Dr. Jones.  Then J-Girl's sewing teacher gave us Ash and Marina.  The babies died.    We got Maui from the pet store.  While I was cleaning the tank one day, Maui wandered off in the house somewhere. I chronicled my hunt for her via Facebook status updates. 

"It's 3 a.m.  Do you know where your turtle is?  Not behind the oven."

I think those posts were the foundational building blocks of my "reputation".  We gave up on Maui.  But a month later, a MONTH later!, J-Girl found her under the TV table on top of the cable box, a place we'd looked many, many times during her absence.   She was skinny but alive. 

In the meantime, I had put Dr. Jones out back in the pond.  She wandered off within a week never to be seen again.  But, when Maui reappeared we adopted Dilly to keep her company.  When Dilly wandered off, I posted these signs around the neighborhood:

Luckily, she wandered back on her own, if not with a little encouragement from the Do-er's amazing turtle-finding dog.  (She left the pond twice more, each time recovered with the help of that dog!)  Now, however, not only did my Facebook friends know of my reptilious reputation, the neighbors did, too.  That's when Janet came our way.  And Emerald.  And Aerial.  I've become the one to call when there are unwanted turtles that need a home. 

So, what is it that separates me, Weird Turtle Lady, from becoming the Crazy Cat Lady of lore?

A thin sheet of aquarium grade plexi-glass...that's what.

 

 

Comments

[Kier]

You aren't alone with the turtles, like a good crazy cat lady, but you have great potential. Turtles live for a long time.

[Nonnie]

Loved this post--you are so funny! So let me get this straight, you now have Maui, Dilly, Dr. Jones, Emerald, Ariel, and Janet?

[Alisa]

It's really your own fault. Between the pond and the meatballs, what do you expect?
You should have seen the look on Link's face when he realized he now has two turtles to keep track of.