mad found this not so little bug outside the other day. the poor, little fella had already gone to the other side, but we thought it was cool how intact his body still was. so, we have been studying him and saving him in a safe spot until it's madden's turn for show and tell. i love being a mom of little boys and this sort of thing just comes with the territory; it's like wrestling, fort building, video games, sports, etc. thankfully, i have a bit of a tomboy side and enjoy most of those things myself. i was quite a bug girl when i was younger, not the killing kind of bug girl, but i was an extremely sensitive child and had a very soft spot for bugs, animals, and all sorts of creatures {and every other thing that once lived, but that's a whole other story.} we would come out to utah every other summer to stay with my cousins and i would bawl my eyes out when they put salt on the slugs and try to rescue them. i would also throw bread to the fish so they wouldn't bite while my dad was fishing {it was not too appreciated.} and cry and cry when one was caught {he was sweet and would put them back sometimes.}. when i was around eight and nine years old, i had a bug cemetery for the bugs and frogs that would drown in our pool. everyday before i swam, i would scoop out the unlucky victims and bury the larger sized ones in our rose garden {there was much imaginative play that went on in that rose garden. a magical place.}. i would then hand make tombstones out of rocks and tinfoil and give them all names that were carefully carved onto the foil wrapped rock with a toothpick. it turned out to be quite a tedious job and became a bit overwhelming, considering it was florida and there are many bugs. therefore, it was pretty short lived, but not for lack of caring about the poor things and their unfortunate demise. {i was quite a strange child.} i suppose what i have yet to get used to about having boys is their need to destroy. i cringe when they stomp ants and, to this day, the spiders found in our home will be rescued safely in a cup and placed outside to, most likely, freeze to death. =/
