I do try to support most of my kids’s passions, but this one is challenging…

All kids are like this in stores, not just mine, right?

TOAD FOOD

A girl with a yellow bunny hair clip sat at the desk next to mine. Her name card said, Annie. 

My name, Ruthie, was also written on a card taped to my desk. 

“Woof-ee?” Annie asked. 

“Lu-see,” a boy corrected. 

“No. RRooo-TH-eee,” I pronounced. It sounded strange.  

“Just call her Rudy,” the teacher said. 

In the cafeteria, I opened my lunch.

“What is that?” Annie asked. Her sandwich was white and soft with red jelly, like all of the other kids’. 

“It’s tofu.” I whispered. The crumbly brown bread squished slabs of jiggly tofu. Green sprouts sprung from under crusts like troll hair. It didn’t smell like jelly. It smelled like… 

“I have never tried toad-food in my life,” Annie confided.

I hid it back inside the bag.  

Annie followed me home after school. “Want to play?” She asked. 

“Ok.” I said.  

I turned on the hose. Leaf canoes sailed down the waterfall to the neighbor’s driveway. We took off our shoes and squished mulberries between our toes. We made a mountain of mud balls. 

Annie gave me her bunny hair clip. 

Before she went home, my mom made us a snack… 

“Mom! Not that…” 

“Toad-food?” Cheered Annie.

Thanks for reading my story, inspired by my name and submitted to the Fall Writing Frenzy. 

This recent comic is also inspired by my name, Ruthie. 

There are some benefits to rage cleaning, when you live in a very small house…

It was a day. Ups. Downs. Around and arounds. The usual. Happy February! 

Some skills don’t come naturally. 

[image-vertical: fingerprint-]

When your kids go to a school with a deaf and hard of hearing program, they sometimes learn to use sign language effectively at home. 

They say that the most challenging, most important part of being an artist is just showing up. 

So here I am. Showing up!