Our outing today took us to Tuscaloosa. The first stop was the alpha chi
omega house for Alabama's bid day. One of the girls I taught several years ago pledged alpha chi and I could not wait to go down and see her in scarlet and green and the letters axo on her jersey! Shea is so special to me and I have waited for quite a while to be able to see her pledge, knowing alpha chi would be the perfect fit for her! Being at the house brought back so many memories of bid day for me (over a decade ago - yikes!) and the friends I made on my college journey. Talking with Shea this week as she went through rush almost made me feel like I was back in college again and it has certainly made the week special!
Our next stop in Tuscaloosa was at Pam's house - the woman who would be the new mommy for my 2 turtles, Shelly and Shelldon. Shelly and Shelldon have been with me for so long, but I knew this day would come. Matt and I agreed when we found out we were expecting Aiden that we could no longer care for the turtles the way they needed to be cared for, didn't have the room for them anymore now that they are getting much larger, and could not run the risk of them getting Aiden sick. (Although it is rare, turtles can carry salmonella and can be more dangerous to kids, who touch the turtles and then put their hands in their mouths. Although it is very rare with indoor turtles like ours, Matt and I agreed we could never live with ourselves if something ever happened to Aiden and we knew a potential risk was possible) So in November we began pursuing other arrangements for them. The Birmingham Zoo was not taking animals at the time. The Botanical Gardens were not taking any more turtles for their pond. We felt we were stuck until after winter. In June, after Aiden was born, Matt began actively looking for a new home for them, since his parents had been keeping them through our move. One day on a whim Matt looked on Craig's List and found a woman who was looking to add another turtle to her habitat in the backyard. Matt contacted her and she was interested in taking BOTH of our turtles. Well, of course when Matt brought it up to me, I cried like a baby. I didn't want to give them up! When he giggled at my silly mommy reaction, I was quick to tell him I had had the turtles longer than I had had him! :) Over the next few weeks I looked into options - possibly building a place of their own in the backyard. The only problem was that this would take away from the already small space Aiden will have in the backyard and that it would be a VERY expensive project to make it worth the effort. After exhausting all possibilities, I told Matt it looked like that was our only answer.
We stopped off today at Pam's house, who happens to be a professor at the U of A. She was SO kind and truly has a passion for turtles! (She even showed us her pictures of her recent trip with her husband to Africa - where they went to see and pet other kinds of turtles!) Her backyard was AMAZING! She has turned the entire area into a beautiful garden and habitat for her fish and for her turtles! She already had 2 land turtles in the enclosure, Winnie and Pooh, as well as 3 red ear sliders (same as Shelly and Shelldon) - in the pond, Tori, Baby, and Chicken (who, I think, is really names Fred, but earned the name Chicken because he is so shy). Pam took the time to listen to me tell her all about my 2 - their names, their physical differences, and their personalities. I could tell very quickly she would love them as much as I do. After showing me where they would live, she told me I could even be the one to put them in their new home and said it might help me to see them swim and play with their new friends. Although it was hot, Matt and Aiden let Mommy watch her other 2 babies explore their new home. I thought it would be SO much harder to let them go, but I know deep down that they will be happier where they are now than if they were here with us. The best part? She told us we could come visit them anytime! I told Matt that I feel like we have an open adoption! She encouraged us to come by when we come down for game days. She even talked about Aiden getting to hold them one day when he is older! I told her I would really take her up on it and she encouraged me to! Here are a few pictures of my sweethearts in their new home...
My last picture with my babies! When I got them, they were only the size of a quarter!
Mommy letting them go in their new pond. This one is Shelly - Shelldon went first. He dove in, went straight under the bushes, and stayed there!
Shelly is exploring her new home and loved it! I never would have thought she would be the more adventurous one today and Shelldon would be so shy and timid! It seemed that as I moved around the pool, Shelly would follow. She was eager to see her new place, but seemed to stay closer to me as I moved around the pond!
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