So Long Lightning Bug Season

    So Long Lightning Bug Season...

    Every night for the past 6 months, and when I say every night, I mean, every single night, starting at 7:30 PM, we would all go out looking for lightning bugs. Penelope really attached herself in the most classic child way to these inocent little dudes and Amy was just awarded the medal of freedom for her skills and abilities to catch them. Some nights, I didnt want to walk in the 200% humidity of Tennessee, to catch the same bugs again and again, but the other night they started ' hybernating ', weather that be true to the seasonal change, or just the strong lack of rain for the past few weeks, but they havent been out, and so a 6 month long ritual came to a close.

    Now I have a bug shaped hole in my heart. Seeing Penelope get SO excited screaming THEYRE HERE!!! and running around, just out of pure joy among the flickering lights, is a memory im going to cherrish forever. Seeing amy's remarkable ability to catch one after the other to let crawl onto penelopes hand, and the cute agression response from her after it flew away. Sometimes, they 'really liked her' or 'were her friend' if they stayed on her hand for a long time. With the last time that happened, pulling a response from penelope of ' that was so special to my heart '.

    How does a two year old know how to pull a 30 year old prog rock listening mans heat strings so easily?! Anyway, im really going to miss this time, and we will all be looking forward to next summer, anticipating their reunion early and on time.

    But what really.....scares? me, is....that this time, together as a family, right here and now, is finite. Penelope will only be two, now. And the magic of these little glowing butt bugs lasts so long. It takes a two year old being free from our reality to bring you back to what really matters in the world. Being together, being unapologietically free, and enjoying everything this world has to offer like its true magic right infront of your eyes. I dont want these experiences to ever go away with her, and these little glow butts have become more important to me than alot of things. If only catching lightning bugs for your daughter made you money :( 

    I decided to draw a pair of lightning bugs, a 'mama and a baby' according to penelope, so Id never forget this time and how important to our family they were this summer. I want to print it out and frame it on the wall somewhere small, so theres space for new memories. Also, heres some worms penelope drew, and 'an eye' and by golly, she really drew an eye????

See you next year lightning bugs <3

- Jon