When Life Gets You By The Tail

Competition between siblings offers more than just a lesson in winning and losing: it’s the realization that success often times includes sacrifice.

On a recent hike to what we now call “Lizard Rock” my husband and older daughter, Avery, were on overdrive trying to catch the little prehistoric creatures sunning themselves on a lone boulder jutting out from the hillside. The lizards seemed drunk with sunshine but, to our surprise, proved adept at escaping the swift moves of both my husband and older daughter …not so swift when Callie, our younger daughter, just casually walked up and scooped one off the rock.

As we continued hiking, Avery seemed detached from the family and intent on her mission to seek out and catch the biggest lizard.  Near the end of the hike she spotted a rather robust lizard and began the prowl; unfortunately her sister saw the same one and the two gave chase. Their race to the rock ended with Avery overtly relishing the win over her sister.  But the thrill was short lived.

 “What’s that wiggling on the rock?” Callie asked. Avery, with blue-belly in her hand looked to the rock where the tail of the lizard lay wiggling. The mountain went quiet and I imagined every lizard, squirrel, deer, butterfly, and bird looking up with sympathetic anticipation as her wail shook us to the core.

“I’ve killed it,” Avery cried while looking at the motionless lizard in her hand.  “Put it down,” my husband said calmly. The lizard lay next to its tail for only a moment then dashed off. Avery sobbed while Callie begged to take the still wriggling tail home with her.

Avery realized in her zeal to out-catch her sister, even when her sister had no clue that they were competing, she had sacrificed another in order to come out the winner.  The tears streamed the entire ride home even as we explained that lizards use the tail-release as a defense mechanism and her little blue-belly would be okay. A few hours scrolling through sites finally calmed her and the day provided a great science and life lesson for our little nature-lover.