I was all set to post something quite differently this afternoon, but something happened here that I feel like needs to be shared in this space.
A few days ago, my boys came down for breakfast to find a swallowtail butterfly on the kitchen table. My husband had gotten up early and taken out the trash and found the little guy. He thought it might be the morning cold that had him down, so he brought the butterfly inside to warm up.
The swallowtail stayed around the kitchen for two days unable to fly.
We're not sure why.
But the boys were so gentle and kind to this little fellow it made my heart happy to watch them have such respect for another living thing so much smaller.
This morning we put him outside on some pretty purple flowers hoping he would eat something and exercise his wings enough to fly away.
But when my 5 year old and I headed out to preschool, our swallowtail friend was dead on the porch.
His heart was completely broken.
He just didn't understand why even though we had been so gentle and had cared for the little creature, it died anyway. He cried and all I could do was cry a few tears with him.
We had a great conversation afterward about how each creature on the earth has a purpose. And about how precious and fragile life is. And how we must continue to protect the little creatures no matter what happens. About how big the world is and how tiny we feel sometimes. How death is a natural part of it all even though it is hard sometimes.
Thank you little swallowtail. Lessons learned.
In honor of Earth Day, what big life lessons have you and your children learned from your experiences in nature?
