In our basement there are two large egress windows with a deep well dug around the outside of them. I would guess that the wells are at least 4 to 5 feet deep, and with all the rain we have had recently, several small frogs have taken up residence in our window wells. At first they were amusing to watch. They nibbled on the bits of foliage that has begun growing in the wells and chewed on crickets and spiders that were unfortunate enough to move into the neighborhood. (Do frogs eat foliage? Maybe not. So they probably aren't nibbling as they hop about in our window, but it still sounds like a froggy thing to do, so I'm going to leave it.)

But now the frogs have become silently pathetic. They can only jump about three feet high, and their suctiony feet always seem to lose grip about halfway up the window. They are stuck in a glass case, and cannot get out.

That's how I've been feeling recently, too, and I don't really know why.

Maybe it's the weather: hot, humid, overcast, rainy. Yesterday, I pressed my nose against the chilly panes of the sliding glass doors in our dining room, watching the rain pour down and longing to run around in it playing "Call the Fire" with my brothers and sisters like we used to when we were kids. Maybe it's the fact that school just started up again. I've always loved attending school, and now that I'm grown up there's no more school in my future. Maybe it's the Texas let-down. I had gotten excited at the prospect of new adventures in the Lone Star State, but upon researching the educational system in that part of the country, we have come to realize that this is probably not the best move for our family at this time. (I say probably, because our decision is not completely set in stone yet, although it looks like it will be pretty firm.) Maybe it's my lack of good tennis shoes. The ones I currently own were purchased (against Jeremy's will) a size too small (because they were SOOOO cute, and they had sold out of the right size). Therefore, I can wear them to events that require me to stand around looking cute, but I cannot wear them to go running.

Whatever the reason, I am feeling trapped. The urge to break out and do SOMETHING lurks strongly just under my calm demeanor.

This morning, I strolled into Craig's office with some paperwork to discuss, and I told him, "Craig. I need to do something fun." "Like what?" came his response. I pondered the question.

I want to buy a motorcycle and go zooming around Iowa. Stop randomly at little hole-in-the-wall places and have adventures like tasting every ice cream flavor known to man, or exploring a cave, or riding in a hot air balloon, or rappelling down a rock wall, or jumping off a cliff and landing in a river (I did that years ago into the Hudson River), or canoeing, or SOMETHING ACTIVE.

All of that raced through my mind, but I calmly answered, "I don't know," and quietly lamented my too-small tennis shoes and my bicycle with the flat rear tire.