It must be butterfly season in my neighborhood this month, because every Lantana bush is flocked with pretty orange and black butterflies. And since the weather is beautiful (finally), the butterflies aren’t the only ones to come out of their cocoons. We’ve emerged from our air conditioned house to take walks around the block.
Bella’s newest obsession is butterflies. I’m all about stopping to smell the roses, but last month, she took it to the next level. Bella simply could not walk away until she caught a butterfly or until one voluntarily “lands on [her] finger”. This went on for a while. There was a lot of swiping at the air, climbing through bushes, and begging with the most earnest begging look you’ve ever seen. Every thirty seconds, she’d pause to ask “Is there one on my head???” It took me a minute to realize that she was sincere about her question, even after hearing the tenth “no”. So, I did what I thought would satisfy her desire, and I told her at one point that ‘yes’, there was one on her head. This only made her touch the top of her bike helmet more frequently and it didn’t squelch the questions even a little. After holding up our four child parade for her chase butterflies for fifteen minutes, she pleaded, “Please, just one more minute! It is my dream to hold a butterfly!!!”
Then I remembered that we were going to Butterfly Wonderland for an upcoming field trip with her Special Blessings (Limb Deficiency) Group. Right then, I was able to truthfully promise her that her dream would come true in 11 days. Bella counted down the days every morning, and Butterfly Wonderland did not disappoint. It was an amazing, dreamy day.
First brush with a butterfly.
Liam was so happy to explore on his own and get completely filthy.
Moment when the dream came true, and I started crying. I still feel emotional just seeing the photo one of her most sincere childhood wishes be granted. It was so appropriate that this was a field trip for her “Special Blessings” group. This group is such a blessing in our lives, for her and our other kids to meet other children and adults with partial limbs like Bella’s, goes without saying. But now this. This was magical.
Even Liam knew to be gentle and just passively reach out and wait for the butterflies to land. The butterflies didn’t trust him enough to land on him, despite his patience though.
Ari held her hand out and waited for her butterfly.
“Is there one on my head?”
“YES! There’s one on your head!!!”
Gabe didn’t know if his moment would come.
But then it did.
Liam tried to get clean in the waterfall. That just made it worse.
Twyla was swarmed by three at once – two of which decided to mate on her arm! If that’s not good luck, I don’t know what is.
Ari met a therapy dog, which may have been the crowning moment for her. She can’t get enough of puppies these days.
That face just about sums up the day for me.
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