Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2008. It was only two months before Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. At that point I had NO idea that anything was wrong with Mattie. That day Mattie came home from kindergarten with MANY tent moth caterpillars. Because this was a spring tradition, we had two jars that we used for the process. As you can see Mattie was holding one of the jars. Mattie helped me with the entire process from daily cleanings of the jars (as caterpillars produce a lot of debris) to finding oak leaves for the caterpillars to eat. Then of course once the metamorphosis process was over, we had a moth releasing event on our deck.
Quote of the day: While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about. ~ Angela Schwindt
It was my typical day here on the farm. However, later in the afternoon, I received a text message from my neighbor. She wanted to know if two of her children could come over to have a butterfly and ladybug releasing event in our backyard! Their house and backyard are under construction and the kids said the ladybugs and butterflies would prefer a flower filled backyard! Fascinating how observant children are! My little neighbor tells me often that we have many "decorations" in our backyard. When he first told me this, I was confused as to what he meant. Then I put two and two together and realized he meant flowers and plants!
Any case, the request immediately reminded me of the photo I took of Mattie in 2008! Releasing events were part of our spring tradition, and I thought it was very meaningful that our neighbors would come over today. Of course they don't know the exact significance of this event to us, but nonetheless, I felt that Mattie was sending me a sign! He was with me today, with each butterfly and ladybug that flew away.
It was a lively afternoon in the backyard and it is lovely to know that we continued Mattie's tradition. He would be very pleased.
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