Friday – Finding Fascination : Flies, Frogs & Fish (and later, Fox)
Flies – According to my dad (at least I think it was he who told me), I used to put flies in my mouth when I was a crawling baby while in our house in West Africa. I just remembered this. It became a family joke for a while, that I “ate” flies. Yuck, I say. But hey, children put everything in their mouths, right? No harm done. I’m not sure if that’s where my interest for all animals started, however, but I have always been fascinated by them. Fast forward five years or so and move to Switzerland.
At this point, I wasn’t crawling on the floor anymore, but I was still mesmerized by flies, apparently. Believe it or not, I used to collect them. Geez, what a weirdo, you’re probably thinking now.
I had this little cardboard miniature dresser with 3 drawers which was meant for storing little treasures in – I think. This is where I collected and kept the dead flies in. My brother thought this was so gross. I do as well, now with my adult mind. But I can smile at it. I didn’t keep the flies there for long. Maybe I counted them? I probably observed them. Noticed that they had 2 wings, 6 hairy legs. I was cataloguing them in my own way. I do not like flies so much anymore. Now fast forward a couple of years and go to Sweden in Summer.
Frog – Back then, we often had wet Summers in Sweden. You didn’t expect it to be sunny and warm. I often walked around barefoot and played outside. At my paternal grandparents’ house, my brother and I spent a lot of time outside. I observed animals and invented stories. Oh, and I had a three legged frog for a friend. Actually, she was probably a toad. I loved that three legged amphibian. I begged my parents to bring it back to Switzerland. Farmor (dad’s mom) explained that the toad couldn’t travel by car, that she lived there by the drainpipe at the corner of their big stone house, near the vegetable garden. And guess what, during the rest of the year, my Farmor gave me updates about my frog. She saw the three legged friend and kept me informed. And the next Summer, I found my wet pal there again. I do love amphibians. And now you might be wondering, what about fish?
Fish – Fast forward many more years and I am now in the Canary Islands on vacation with my boyfriend (who later became my husband) and we have decided to learn to scuba dive. But before we take our lessons, we snorkel. This was my first time ever seeing what lives under the sea. I was blown away! I had no idea that there was a whole world of amazing beauty that I had never seen. Fish of all colors. For hours, I floated in that warm water, snorkeling and watching life under the surface. I was hooked. This is when I decided that I wanted to study Marine Biology.
Have you ever wondered how our lives are shaped? I believe it is through all the different encounters we make, from childhood and on. All kinds of meetings can have an impact and shape us. And, you might be wondering, what about Fox?
I’ll keep that story for another Friday post. I hope you enjoyed these snapshots into my past of things starting with F.
Be well, Friends – Find Fascination, go Forth and Find Fun. And Happy Weekend!
