Big Gift in Small Package

I’ve always
heard big things come in small packages, but I never dreamed this small package
would get so big. Last year we went on vacation as a family of four (me,
Jorjanne, our dog, and our cat) but we came home a family of five. We adopted a
pet turtle named Polkala (Pokey for short). He came with a cute little “habitat.”  It didn’t take long for him to steal our
hearts.

I love to
sing and one day I realized that every time I’d sing, he’d stick his head out
of the water to listen. Then Jorjanne and I made up a silly song about his name
and we began singing it to him every time we’d feed him. Not too long ago, he
started taking the food right out of our hands.

We’ve had
Pokey for a year now and my mom asked what I wanted for my birthday. I thought
and said, “Hmmm, I think I should get Polkala a new aquarium.” Now, I had a
small fish bowl in mind when I went to Pet Smart. Imagine my surprise when the
clerk told me that Pokey would get to be the size of a football. She told me
that if I continued to keep him in the small container, his shell would grow
soft and he would die. We couldn’t let that happen! Not knowing if this was
true or if she was just a good salesman, I knew I couldn’t take a risk of
letting Pokey die. Now we have a huge aquarium in our living room for him. He’s
been in it a week and a half and has already grown. I was shocked!

Once again,
I’ve learned that it’s the little things in life that make up the big things.
If I had known Pokey would get so big, I probably wouldn’t have bought him —
but I’m glad I did!

This is Pokey when we first bought him and you can see his home with the palm tree.