Teacher's Pets

Teacher picked up some new pets today. Quite by accident, I might add.

A few years ago, someone very special to me shared that she once took care of some caterpillars. After some time, they had formed their chrysalis and soon were ready for their rebirth...one in which they would become beautiful butterflies. She told me that as they emerged from their cocoons, it was a dirty, bloody mess, but a glorious dirty, bloody mess. Since then I had been curious about how it would look.

So today I found out that a bunch of caterpillars were feeding on a plant in our schools front yard. So I went and took the plant, put it in a terrarium and crossed my fingers that soon, I, too, would witness that birthing: the terrible beauty of metamorphosis.

In the first few hours of my new pet-caring career, I have learned that story The Very Hungry Caterpillar is true: the caterpillar never stops eating! The book didn't say it poops a lot, too, though. Cute looking poop at that hehe. I left the box of caterpillars in school while I went off to my undergrad classes, with a bunch of leaves. I thought that would be enough for the next day or two. Apparently not! By the time I got back in school to pick it up, there were no more leaves, just a bunch of poop.

Then I went home and set off to create my pets new crib, where hopefully they can thrive. My cousin Bee provided me with an old container she had, which was perfect as it was a plastic container with a cover that already had slots on them. I think it once held her pet white mice. With the cage ready, I lined the bottom with some damp soil and scattered leaves and put sticks and stems they were feeding on. As I write this post, I am watching them devour the plants in their cage. It's an amazing experience thus far. I just hope it makes it all the way to the end. By the way, it's amazing how they munch through the leaves. So cute!!! Here's their new home!

In many ways, it is not only the life cycle this metamorphosis represents, but even my own terrible beauty of rebirth as well. In the past five years, I've seen myself go from a very hungry caterpillar to an emerging butterfly. The journey has not been easy, but I know, and believe, that the journey will be worth the wait.