November 10, 2012

This morning my son ran to me in a slight pant. He had seen a butterfly! I did not understand his excitement at first. He has seen hundreds of butterflies in his four years. I followed where he beckoned and soon realized what made this butterfly different from the others. This butterfly was trapped on our back patio and fluttered up and down the screen searching for an escape. My son pointed and shouted, “Look! Look!”
I love saving butterflies and dragonflies from the perils of our patio! We have a wide variety of predators residing there – black widows, daddy long legs, lizards and the occasional wasp. Often dragonflies and butterflies find their way in and cannot get back out. So I get to rescue them! I swear they know I am saving them, because, so many times, they perch on my finger so I can lead them through the door. Then off they fly from my finger into the sky. It’s incredible!
When I reached out to cup my palms around the empress butterfly, I noticed a stalking lizard to the right. I paused for a moment. I was stuck in this internal dialogue which often manifests in moments like this. Do I interfere? Doesn’t the lizard deserve this meal, if he can catch it? Who am I to meddle with Nature? (Um…you’re the person who keeps leaving the patio door open.)
Today, I managed to ignore all that. A great desire drove me to rescue the bug. I wanted to be a hero for a least a moment in my son’s life. He noticed this butterfly. He knew something was wrong. He came to me for help. At least, this is what I tell myself and I like how it sounds in my head. So I got to be the hero. Before I set it free, I asked my son if he wanted to see it up close. He asked me first if he could give it a name. I said, “Of course! What name would you like to give it?” He said, “I wanna give it you name.” Sigh…