BUTTERFLIES

Well, we have been VERY diligent about watching our caterpillars turn themselves into “Racoons” (as Berk says… instead of cocoons! Ha) And we have been VERY diligent about checking them to see if they were still raccoons or if they had emerged into butterflies!

And, guess what?!! Last week, while Gigi and Papaw were out of town, the butterflies hatched!! And Gray actually got to see one of them break out! What fun!! Every time I called Gray, I asked him whether he thought they were ready to be turned loose or not and every time the answer was the same… “No Geege… I can tell they’re not ready yet.” Hmm. (Since their entire life span is only 2 months, we were a little concerned that the butterflies may indeed be ready, but the butterfly keeper may not. Papaw had already warned me the boy might have a hard time letting them go when the time came.)

So today, Gray and I were carefully placing a long stem of sugar-watered flowers into the butterfly house when one flew out into the kitchen and went straight to the window. “Oh, look, Gray!” I said, “That one is SO ready to be outside, don’t you think?!”

“No, Gigi. It’s suppose to rain today. Besides, I think it’s still too cold. Catch him! Hurry! Put him back in his house!” So, I carefully cupped the flighty little thing and placed him back in the cage.

“Gray, I’m kind of worried they might die if we don’t set them free.” His bottom lip quivered and confirmed Papaw’s hunch. I knew we were at one of those rite-of-passage milestones for little boys and I had to maneuver such unfamiliar waters very carefully. “Are you a little sad to let them go?”

“No. Well, yes, a little.” More quivering. His eyes looked up and to the right, followed by his whole head. I could tell the little man was trying to leave the room without getting off his chair.

“Yeah, I’m a little sad, too. You’ve taken such good care of them. I wonder what would happen if you came to see them tomorrow in their little house and they were dead. That would be pretty sad, too, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. So do you have a big box we could cut a hole in and put outside in case it rained or they got cold?”

“Oh, you mean like another house for them outside? I’m sure I do! Let’s go see.”

So we trotted out to the garage while I prayed there might be a box that hadn’t made it to the garbage yet. We found a quite smaller box than Gray had hoped for, but one perfectly suited for five tiny butterflies that I was pretty sure would never find need for it anyway. I dutifully cut along his lines for the igloo-shaped doorway, and wrote “Gray’s Butterflies” across the top, as he requested. For good measure, we cut a flap in the top of the box so he could “peek and see them when they went inside”.

Finally we made the long pilgrimage all the way from the kitchen to the front door. The tree exploding with white flowers outside the dining room window was just what our precious newbies needed, and we were actually excited to have discovered such a nearby habitat. But as soon as we unzipped the doorway, I could tell the dread had returned. “Should we say a prayer for them?” A quick nod and two little adorably clasped hands almost choked me beyond being able to offer up this plea for kindergarten size strength and comfort, which I was trying to hide between words of gratitude for these amazing creatures and their equally amazing little caretaker.

I think God listened, because when we finished our prayer and laid the long stem of flowers and butterflies gently on the lowest tree branch, he seemed more at peace with the idea. He did linger a long time repositioning the doorway side of the little cardboard house we made and bidding them happy flights after I had taken the last picture and gone into the house.

“Maybe we can order some more sometime. Would you like that?” I asked, roughing his hair, trying to shift the mood a little. No sooner did he say yes and I returned to my pre-butterfly release chores did he come running into the kitchen waving a piece of paper with bright blue numbers drawn all over it.

“Here you go!” he said smiling enthusiastically. “Here’s the phone number. Now we can get more butterflies!”

“Where on earth did you get that?!” It had been at least two months since we ordered them, requiring several weeks to ship. I was positive we didn’t keep the information. I was flabbergasted!

“I just turned on the TV, and the commercial came right on, so I hurried to copy down the numbers. ‘Now you, too, can own your own butterfly habitat!’” he repeated exactly like the convincing salesman.

“Very funny.” I told God. “Guess you heard a different prayer from the one I prayed, huh?” One a little more sincere, evidently… one straight from a little boy’s heart.