Tick Tock

I miss this guy.

Live a Little - Grounded

I'm going to use my turtle , Tick Tock, as an example of how to Live a Little again. Remember how he inspired me to break out of the box? Well, this weekend I finally set up his gigantic new tank (thanks, Craigslist!) to replace the itty bitty one he had outgrown so quickly.

At first, he seemed daunted. I was surprised, having expected him to adapt quickly to such a beautiful new habitat. It's so much bigger, so much cleaner, so much brighter. It even has a stellar view of the backyard, looking straight out of our biggest picture window. All he did was knock over the foliage and paw around at the pebbles.

Then it occurred to me that, although boundaries keep us penned in, they can also be comforting. Maybe Tick Tock liked being in a tank that forced him to climb out and test his limits on a regular basis. Maybe it was important for him to struggle up the walls and flip himself over time and time again. Maybe he liked the challenge.

About an hour into his resettling, I noticed Tick getting more comfortable. He seems to like the babbling brook sound of the new filter and the spacious basking platform. He also likes having the kittens sit on the ledge in front of him and visit. I think he just needed some time to reassess his situation and realize that everything was okay. The world is bigger but still within his reach. No matter how high you set your goals, you need to make sure you keep yourself grounded.

I can't believe I learn so much from a stray turtle.

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Live A Little - Break Out of the Box

This week's Live a Little thought was inspired by our turtle, Tick Tock. We've had Tick for a couple of years now, ever since our neighbor brought him over in a shoebox. He was tiny then, about the size of  an egg, but he's huge now. I never expected him to have such a big personality to match, though. Who knew I'd have a turtle who would beckon me to hold him and let me scratch his chin? Crazy! 

Another thing that's crazy about Tick is how fast he is. He can move. And climb. Obviously, he's too big for his tank these days, but he can climb out and then we'll find him all the way back in Jasper's room at the other end of the house. Playing with Playmobil knights and dragons. Okay, that last bit is total hyperbole, but he does get around, which is pretty impressive for a common red eared slider.

Tick's intrepid spirit made me ruminate a little bit about boundaries and how we set them for ourselves, even if they're entirely imaginary. "I can't do that!" or "I'm not qualified!" are not things we should accept in our day-to-day lives. Instead, we should try to say "I haven't done that before but I'll give it my best shot!" Think outside the box that you've made for yourself and see what a difference it makes.

What walls will you tear down?

Share your Live a Little suggestions with the Skimbaco every Monday by adding the link to your Live a Little blog post in the InLinkz widget below. Rules: Link either to Skimbacolifestyle.com OR grab the InLinkz code for your blog post – or do both! If you post the widget in your blog post, please add the rules as well.