Catchin’ Crawdads

One of the coolest parts of playing in the creek is catching crawdads. On our last creek excursion my husband, daughter, and son caught two crawdads, and you would have thought we discovered a new species. Well, I guess the crawdads were a new species to my kiddos, because they had never had one in their possession before.

As a kid I caught a few of the snappy, creek dwellers and I now harbor fond memories of trying to keep them alive in a big jar with water and rocks.

Crawdads are simple creatures. They hang out under rocks and wait for their food to float by. When something big enough is caught to share, they feed off one another’s catch.

They know all the good hiding places and forage for the simple floating foods.

When you catch a crawdad, they wriggle and try to pinch you with their claws and seek to return to their home of rocks and water. They probably do want to hurt you, but not because they are mean, but because they just don’t feel safe.

We are a lot like crawdads.

We try to go with the flow and get what we need. Sometimes someone scoops us up from our safe place and we to lash out or try to wriggle our way to feeling safe.

If you find yourself in a caught crawdad situation, you are going to react the best way you know how. Hopefully you will soon find yourself safely in your home with the things you need, but while you find yourself in the fight for comfort, remember the lessons taught to you by the crawdad.

   Going with the flow can take you far.

  Being patient can pay off.

  The best meals are the ones you share.

  Trying to hurt those who hurt you, only ends in more pain.

This post is not intended to make everyone “crabby” (pun intended), but hopefully will pass on the lessons our clawed-friends can teach us.

When you find yourself under the scrutiny of your own “crawdad catcher,” put your energy into moving successfully past your situation and the results will most likely have a positive impact on releasing your inhibitions and fears.

By: Melanie A. Peters