Lou and the Grasshopper

Since Calan has been born the Perkins’ family has been on lockdown. You know how it is, you just don’t venture out much with a new born baby. But, Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, it smelled like Fall, Londyn had been cooped up for the last few weeks; it was time to get out. Nothing too adventurous: just a nice leisurely walk along the Jordan River Parkway.

It started out like any other walk. The sun on our faces, Londyn looking for “treasures” (a.k.a. rocks, flowers and bugs), all in all we were having a good time. Londyn especially liked the animals. We saw an ant, a spider; I even caught a frog and showed it to her. But the best part for Londyn was the grasshoppers. They were all over the walkway. I would put my foot next to a grasshopper and it would jump away and Londyn would laugh and laugh. “What a great day” I thought to myself. Then up ahead we saw a BIG grasshopper. It was bright green and probably 2 ½ inches long. As foolhardy as ever I stomped my foot behind the grasshopper, but in instead of jumping away (causing much laughter) it jumped right on Londyn’s bare left arm (causing pure terror). I will not even attempt to describe poor Londyn’s face as the massive grasshopper landed upon her, but suffice it to say she was reduced to a pile of panic and fear. As she violently shook her arm to rid her flesh of this leaping beast, at last the grasshopper dislodged itself from her arm and hopped away. The screaming and crying that followed were in Brynn’s words, “homesick”.




Since Sunday, this tale of trepidation and horror has been shared countless times in the Perkins’ home. Many a time a day, (including last night at 3 o’clock in the morning) Londyn will ask me to tell her the story of “Londyn and the Grasshopper”. She loves to hear me tell the tale. And every time I finish telling her of the day the hopping monster terrorized our Sunday walk, she looks at me with her big blue eyes, smiles her big toothy smile and says “He liked me Daddy! The grasshopper really liked my arm!”

To be honest, I have no idea if Londyn will be forever scarred by her run in with the grasshopper, or if she thinks she made a friend that day. Whichever the case, grasshoppers have now replaced “baby brother” as the # 1 topic in the Perkins’ home.