adventurous life-saving events

this morning was hot.
this morning was no-breeze, my-shins-are-sweating hot.

and i had the grand pleasure of sitting in a chair half the day, making sure kids didn't do stupid things and end up with waterlogged lungs. i passed time by yelling at eight duncans and wiping away the oceans of sweat that collected on my eyelids and under my knees.

i didn't have to jump in after any duncans, and i've never actually had to pull anyone out of the pool, for the year and a half that i've been lifeguarding. but today, i am proud to say, i saved my first life.

i saved a frog.

that's him. i shot him as he caught his breath before hopping off into the dehydrated grass.

i found him as i was emptying the filters. it wasn't an uncommon find--i can't tell you how many times i've found a few dead frogs in the filters and had to chuck them into the ominous black trash can of amphibian burial grounds. there is something horrific about the sight of a dead frog--something unnatural. i'd go so far as to say supernatural; yes. belly-up: the pale little stomach reflecting the sun. those eyes, bulging. the little slimy limbs, stiffly extended as if by electric shock. it just isn't the same as coming across a dead bird or squirrel. there's something so wrong about it.

but today, i found this frog, and he was not belly-up. he was flailing miserably, which was a most un-miserable sight to my eyes. all this lifeguard training was about to pay off, i tell you. hours and hours of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator and first aid training, and i'd finally get to put it into action.

not really. but i did get to rescue a frog.