Today I decided to stay indoors and begin the long and tedious packing process, much to the kids dismay. To be indoors for the majority of the day is about as bad as forcing them to eat lima beans and do home work. Despite the gloomy outlook for their schedule, they have been relatively peaceful and have played sweetly with each other. They even found, and lost, a new pet.
Crawly the Bug.
John Abraham was in the bathroom for a little longer than necessary, so I decided to peek in on him. He was crouched down on the floor watching a tiny little beetle-type bug crawling on the floor. "Oh, he's so cute" says my sweet boy. Of course, I wanted to squash it, never desiring any sort of creepy crawly thing in my home. But John's little face was filled with fascination as he watched the bug, so I couldn't dare kill his new friend. I went about my business after telling John that he could keep the bug in the bathroom. Eventually the girls realized what he was doing, and with a look of disgust Sarah ran into the kitchen and shouted "MOM, John Abraham is playing with a BUG!!" (She is so my child). I smiled and told her that it was ok. Its just a tiny little beetle and I said that it could stay in the bathroom. A good ten minutes went by before I realized that they were all in the bathroom together, "playing" with the bug, which had been affectionately named Crawly. They put two of John's matchbox cars in there, because Crawly needs transportation. They built a city on the step stool, because Crawly needs a place to relax and shop, if he so desires. They even put an almond on the floor, in case he gets hungry. Then Sarah had the great idea to get a shoe box so that Crawly could come outside with us later (not really "outside", the garage. It must be cleaned and alas, I'm the one to clean it. Ug) The three of them went out on a search and came back into the bathroom just in time to see Crawly make his way underneath the baseboard, not to be seen again. They were frantic, especially Madelyn. At this point, John Abraham lost interest and went back to watching Scooby Doo. The girls, however, were contemplating what terrible fate surely awaited Crawly in the bowels of the walls. Sarah was voicing her plan of action in the event that Crawly made it back out, while Madelyn was pleading with her that they just stop and pray to God to bring him out. Sarah, of course, wasn't listening to Madelyn. So she decided to take matters into her own hands. She stomped off, saying "FINE, I will go pray by myself in my quiet place!"
My daughter has a "quiet place".
When I heard her say that, my heart became mush. She went into my room, between my bed and the wall, and whispered a little prayer. Immediately, when she was done, she jumped to her feet, called Crawly's name and ran to the bathroom, fully expecting to see him in the middle of the floor. I heard her disappointment as she went into the living room to cry to Sarah. I found her and told her that God has to do what is best for everyone, including Crawly, and perhaps Crawly needs to be in the wall... maybe that's where he lives. We talked about it for a bit and she is settled on the fact that God is taking care of Crawly and she might see him again someday.
Thank you God for bugs.
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