Prior to a couple of weeks ago, I don’t think I would have ever considered that a butterfly could express gratitude. I’ve always marveled at these tiny, little, beautiful creatures. They hatch, go into metamorphosis to become an adult, emerge subtly, yet magnificently only to make a 1500-3000 mile migration to warmer climates (that they’ve never been to before) to find a mate. And then? They die. The entire life cycle of a monarch takes up to 9 months. Incredible, right?
With all of those things considered, I would have ever considered that a tiny, little creature could have such a big impact on my kids and our family.
Over Christmas break my daughter and I went for a walk each morning. This particular day she chose to walk with me and help push her younger sister in the stroller rather than riding her bike. It was probably about 40 degrees which, I know, I know.. isn’t insanely cold.. but this is Texas y’all. We don’t own a lot of warm clothes.. we completely forget how to drive and we don’t have the right tools to deal with colder weather. I can’t count the number of times I’ve scraped ice off my windshield with the edge of a CD case! Nevertheless, there we were with an itch to get out of the house, regardless of the temperature outside. Continue reading “Gratitude: A Lesson from a Monarch Butterfly”