Snails are Sweet~According to Megan!

School is still in session.  For 5 more weeks.  Which means, Megan is still waking up at the crack of dawn to catch the bus. Early on she was always crazy excited to see the bus! Now, not so much! In fact, I have to actually pull her out of bed just about every morning now.  And the sad part, she cries.  Megan is tired. And feeling a bit "sluggish" if you will.

Today she did much better!!  She even announced with great excitement, "Bus is coming"! And there was NOT a single tear shed!  

When the bus arrived, we opened the door to head out.  A burst of cool, fresh Spring air washed over us.  Ahhhhhhh.......  It woke us both up!!  

While running out to the bus, Megan managed to kick a snail. I told her, "Oh, know! You kicked that snail back there!"  She immediately stopped in her tracks.  Said, "Huh, oh!" Made a 180 degree turn and ran back to the snail.  

Once she got back to where Mr. Snail had planted himself, she bent down to him and said, very sincerely "I'm sorry!" 

Before we go on I should mention that Mr. Snail survived the kick and didn't sustain any injuries.  He did, however get a bit scared.  And as a result, retracted up into the safety of his shell.

Moving on.  

After Megan apologized, she was still a bit concerned about Mr. Snail's well-being and picked him up.  She turned him over and looked inside.  And there he was safe inside his shell.  

While looking at Mr. Snail all tucked up, Megan said very sweetly, "Oh!! He's sleeping".

Why of course.  Who would wake up so early? Only little girls who have to catch a school bus!

No harm done.  Mr. Snail was perfectly fine.  Why, he was in dreamland.

Just one thing.

I'm wondering if Megan didn't think it was just any old snail. Because if there's one thing I know about my sweet Megan, it's that she loves the Nick Cartoon, SpongeBob! And SpongeBob happens to have a pet snail named, Gary.  

Here's the question:

Did Megan think it was Gary the snail?

OR

Does Megan have a greater love for all snails now because SpongeBob has one as a pet? 

OR

Is it just that big heart of hers that seems to love everyone and everything?  

I'm thinking, by her reaction, it's the later.  Megan was very sincere and seemed very concerned. Hmmm???  I know how much she loves that Nick Cartoon and I'm certain she'd never want to hurt Gary.

Regardless of her motive, there's one thing I know for a fact.  Megan brings joy into our lives everyday through the little things she does.  This story of Mr. Snail is just one of the many examples.  It's the little things we typically overlook, which Megan does not.  Instead, she brings them to our attention.  

I don't like snails.  They eat my pretty flowers.  But it was such a beautiful sight seeing how someone could be so kind to a pest.  

Here's another lesson Megan taught today~Perhaps we all could stand to be a little nicer and a bit more thoughtful, even to those we may consider "pests" {just like those little pesky gastropods}.  Taking time out of our busy day to do more nice things for others, will not only bless their lives, but will simply make us each better people.

Side Note:  It's possible Megan somehow knew that gastropods have unusually long life spans. Did you know, they can live up to 10 years!  There are even reports of some living as long as 25! Maybe she wanted to make sure this young snail had a full life ahead of him~eating all my plants and flowers!! Sweet, huh?

This whole snail encounter lasted 2 short minutes. Tops.  And really, more than anything, it made me laugh!  Especially when Megan declared that Mr. Snail was asleep.  Because I am sure that is exactly what she wanted to be doing.  Sleeping.