LadyBugs

StinkyMan and Curly spent their late Saturday evening and early Sunday morning catching and releasing ladybugs. It was such a sweet, simple thing, so indicative of the long upcoming summer days, that I just stood and watched them for a long time. They would search carefully and when one of them would find one the other would come over and admire the catch. They were always very careful not to hurt the ladybugs, going to far as to place the bugs back on leaves in the bushes and not on the grass so "no one will step on them".

But Sunday morning, for whatever reason, a particular ladybug caught my son's special attention. He put a leaf and some grass in a cup and gently placed the ladybug in there. He named her Josie and he took that cup EVERYWHERE for a large part of the day. Josie sat on the table next to him during lunch. Josie watched "Wow Wow Wubbzy" with him. Josie even went potty with him.

I tried very hard to convince him that Josie was a bug and would actually be MUCH happier outside than inside, but he didn't believe me. Josie was his new companion. I said ladybugs prefer the yard to the living room. No deal. I said ladybugs like the sky, not the inside air. No deal. I said that I thought Josie might miss her ladybug family. And he said "Mommy, she loves me."

Yeah.. Argue with that. I couldn't. So Josie lived inside for the day. By bedtime we found her abandoned in the pantry. I guess StinkyMan left her in there when he went to get a snack. We waited for him to ask for her for bedtime, but he didn't. So once he was asleep, we set his beloved Josie free, in the bushes of course. I didn't want her to get stepped on in case we needed to try to find her back today. So far he hasn't mentioned her. But I'm ready to go hunting when he does.