It's Raining Starfish

So, the strangest thing that has happened to us recently is this:

Pulling out of the driveway to pick up Josiah on Wednesday, Hans said "Hey, is that a starfish?". Accustomed as I am to the strange subjects he randomly brings up, I didn't really think anything of it. Then, he confirmed that it was a starfish and made me stop the car. There, laying at the corner of Second and Chestnut Streets at the stop sign was a starfish.

Maybe he ran out of gas? Or maybe it was a she and she was working our corner. I really don't know.

My husband, who is knowledgeable on pretty much every subject under the sun (and I mean that without being even a trace facetious) told me that most likely a gull picked up the starfish in the bay and was flying up to have it for dinner when it (the gull) dropped the starfish. This seems feasible as we live within a block of the bay and there are many, many gulls around. Frau Matildhe will attest to that. That's my car, for those of you who aren't familiar with the freakish Kuehl habit of naming vehicles. Hey, she's a stolid German matron!

Anyway. We went to pick up Josiah who had had another wonderful day at school complete with potty usage all day. We are such sappy parents. We both miss him so much on Wednesdays that we practically fight over who gets to go and pick him up...so most of the time, we all go together to eliminate the smackdown.

We pulled up to the house and Hans says "Josiah, I have to show you something". Annika and I go into the house and proceed about our business. All of a sudden, Josiah comes bursting through the door holding the starfish by one arm. Eeeeek!!! Starfish are OK when they are in the ocean or on street corners, but not when they are freshly dead, wet and black and squishy and pimply. EWWW! And of course, thinking nothing of the fact that Mama might not love his new "pet" as much as he, Josiah runs right for me, dangling the starfish.

Being Rachel, I immediately screamed and jumped up on the windowseat and stayed there until Hans and Josiah put the starfish on the porch to dry out. I don't know how fast it is drying out, because it still looks black and squishy and gross to me and our porch is starting to smell like rotten starfish. Hans found my reaction to the starfish to be so amusing that I had to make him promise, super-promise not to play any tricks on me with the starfish. I could see him putting it under my pillow or something...ewww.

Anyway. Now I'm a little freaked by the starfish incident. I'm afraid every time I go outside that a gull is going to fly over and drop a half-dead starfish on my head! My eye is on the sky!