Circle of Life

I haven't seen it since second grade.

At least I'm pretty sure it was second grade because my third grade teacher, Mr. Sam, was an abusive curmudgeon who literally picked me up by my head and moved me back to the end of the line when I budged.

Nothing good ever came out of his class.

And by fourth grade I was living in Germany and far, far away from Mexico. So I'm fairly certain it was second grade.

That was the year when our teacher, Mrs. Bivona, brought in the yellow, black and white striped monarch caterpillars. They chomped their way through milkweed leaf after milkweed leaf (they were hungry, hungry you know) until they turned into chrysalises. Every day we watched them, waiting for the moment when their little sleeping bags would wiggle and they would break free and land, wet and unable to fly, on the bottom of the insect jar. And they didn't disappoint.

So I was really glad this year when we went to the state fair and into the Butterfly House to find out that you could buy a monarch caterpillar complete with milkweed leaves. Caeden picked out a caterpillar and we brought him home to watch. Armed with his magnifying glass so that he could, "Look at the caterpillar closely," (his words) we watched that little worm climb to the top of the jar and hang down in the proverbial J shape.

Later that night we watched him spin a chrysallis around his body. Caeden and Avery were enthralled.

Every day for two weeks the kids would wake up and run out to the kitchen where the chrysalis hung and see if there was anything new.

Finally, he emerged. Unfortunately it was while we were all away for the day. But when we got home the kids were crazy with excitement. Butterflybutterflybutterfly!

The next morning we gently eased this little miracle from his jar to a flower in our yard. We watched him for a few hours while he stayed perched primly on that flower. We had some errands to run and by the time we got back home, the butterfly was gone.

"Butterfly fly away?" Avery asked.

"Yes honey. The butterfly is finding a new home," I told her.

That's what I want her to believe.

But it's probably just as likely that a bird swooped down and made a tasty meal out of our friend.