Three months after my husband left me with almost nothing, I spent my last $10 on thirty-three porcelain frogs for my daughter\u2019s birthday. I thought I was buying her a cheap gift. I had no idea one of them would change everything.<\/p>\n
Three months before my daughter Amy turned eight, my husband left me for his secretary.<\/p>\n
He did not just leave.<\/p>\n
Daniel emptied most of our joint account, changed the locks on our house, and told me through his lawyer that I could arrange a supervised time to collect my \u201cpersonal necessities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apparently, the couch I paid for was not necessary.<\/p>\n
That did not include half the clothes still hanging in my closet.<\/p>\n
Apparently, the couch I paid for was not necessary.<\/p>\n
Neither was the dining set.<\/p>\n
Or my grandmother\u2019s dresser.<\/p>\n
While lawyers sent each other expensive emails, Amy and I lived in a motel room beside the highway.<\/p>\n
One night, she watched me wash her school uniform in the sink.<\/p>\n
It had one bed, one chair, and a bathroom fan that sounded like a lawn mower.<\/p>\n
One night, she watched me wash her school uniform in the sink.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we poor now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I still have cereal tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept scrubbing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re being careful with money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
She considered that.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I still have cereal tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n
There were nights I told her I\u2019d already eaten because one motel-room dinner stretched further if only one of us had it.<\/p>\n
I nearly cried.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, sweetheart. You can still have cereal.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were nights I told her I\u2019d already eaten because one motel-room dinner stretched further if only one of us had it.<\/p>\n
Amy never complained.<\/p>\n
Somehow, that made everything worse.<\/p>\n
I wanted Amy to have one thing from me.<\/p>\n
Her eighth birthday was coming, and I had almost nothing.<\/p>\n
I wanted Amy to have one thing from me.<\/p>\n
Something she could unwrap.<\/p>\n
The afternoon before her birthday, I was driving to her school when I saw a GARAGE SALE sign taped to a telephone pole.<\/p>\n
I almost ignored it.<\/p>\n
Amy had loved \u201cThe Frog Prince\u201d since preschool.<\/p>\n
Then I noticed a folding table covered in little porcelain animals.<\/p>\n
Mostly frogs.<\/p>\n
I pulled over.<\/p>\n
There were thirty-three of them.<\/p>\n
Some wore crowns. Some carried flowers. One held a tiny umbrella. Another was dressed like a chef.<\/p>\n
She still joked that if she kissed enough frogs, eventually one of them had to turn into a prince.<\/p>\n
Amy had loved \u201cThe Frog Prince\u201d since preschool.<\/p>\n
She still joked that if she kissed enough frogs, eventually one of them had to turn into a prince.<\/p>\n
A cardboard sign beside the collection read:<\/p>\n
ALL 33 \u2013 $10.<\/p>\n
I checked my wallet.<\/p>\n
The woman running the sale looked about seventy. Silver hair, gardening gloves, gentle eyes.<\/p>\n
Eleven dollars and some coins.<\/p>\n
I should have driven away.<\/p>\n
Instead, I bought thirty-three porcelain frogs.<\/p>\n
The woman running the sale looked about seventy. Silver hair, gardening gloves, gentle eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone likes frogs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they\u2019re going somewhere good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirthday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they\u2019re going somewhere good.\u201d<\/p>\n
I told a stranger everything.<\/p>\n
She noticed my red eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou all right, honey?\u201d<\/p>\n
That was all it took.<\/p>\n
I told a stranger everything.<\/p>\n
The woman listened quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say her circumstances were lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I finished, she said, \u201cYour little girl is lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe lives in a motel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say her circumstances were lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could answer, I checked my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you pack them? Please? I\u2019ll come back tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m late for school pickup.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pointed at the frogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you pack them? Please? I\u2019ll come back tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pulled off one gardening glove and held out her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pulled off one gardening glove and held out her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Martha, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
I told her my name.<\/p>\n
Her fingers tightened around mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you grow up around here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Just slightly.<\/p>\n
Then she looked at me more carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you grow up around here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNear Pine Street?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martha studied my face for another second.<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, yes. Why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martha studied my face for another second.<\/p>\n
Then she smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust asking, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martha had packed everything into a sealed cardboard box.<\/p>\n
The next morning, I returned.<\/p>\n
Martha had packed everything into a sealed cardboard box.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll safe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we weren\u2019t doing presents until Saturday with Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a moment, she kept hold of my hand as if there was something else she wanted to say.<\/p>\n
Then she let go.<\/p>\n
That evening, Amy sat cross-legged on our motel bed while I carried over the box.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we weren\u2019t doing presents until Saturday with Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one\u2019s from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She tore through the tape.<\/p>\n
She kept unwrapping them.<\/p>\n
When she saw the first frog, she gasped.<\/p>\n
Then the second.<\/p>\n
Then the third.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
She kept unwrapping them.<\/p>\n
She arranged them across the tiny motel table, announcing titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom!\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a whole frog kingdom!\u201d<\/p>\n
She arranged them across the tiny motel table, announcing titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is he suspicious?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrincess Frog. Sir Frog. Doctor Frog. Suspicious Frog.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is he suspicious?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at his eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, this one\u2019s wobbly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she picked up a small frog holding a blue flower.<\/p>\n
Its base rocked against the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, this one\u2019s wobbly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it somewhere safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
She reached to move it.<\/p>\n
Her fingers caught it for half a second.<\/p>\n
The frog tipped sideways.<\/p>\n
Amy lunged for it.<\/p>\n
Her fingers caught it for half a second.<\/p>\n
Then it slipped.<\/p>\n
It hit the floor and shattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just porcelain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amy gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just porcelain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in her voice made me look up.<\/p>\n
She crouched to collect the pieces.<\/p>\n
Then she stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in her voice made me look up.<\/p>\n
She was holding a rolled-up photograph.<\/p>\n
It was my third-grade school picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is your picture inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
I took it from her.<\/p>\n
It was my third-grade school picture.<\/p>\n
I was eight.<\/p>\n
Exactly Amy\u2019s age.<\/p>\n
Five words were written on the back.<\/p>\n
Same terrible bangs. Same missing tooth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I flipped it over.<\/p>\n
Five words were written on the back.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Break the biggest frog first.<\/p>\n
Amy stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s creepy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExtremely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n
I should have said no.<\/p>\n
It was ridiculous. Bright green, almost a foot tall, wearing a golden crown.<\/p>\n
Instead, we found the largest frog.<\/p>\n
It was ridiculous. Bright green, almost a foot tall, wearing a golden crown.<\/p>\n
I wrapped it in a motel towel.<\/p>\n
Amy climbed onto the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cStand back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I struck the frog against the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore back.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pressed herself against the headboard.<\/p>\n
I struck the frog against the floor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three months after my husband left me with almost nothing, I spent my last $10 on thirty-three porcelain frogs for my daughter\u2019s birthday. I thought I was… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t