You may recall that we invited a couple of caterpillars into our home a few weeks ago.
At the time I thought for sure they'd be the most revolting residents of the Engel house. But then they did the unimaginable & became even more disgusting by entering their chrysalis stage.
Once we saw that they were safely tucked away in their little cocoons, we built & decorated cardboard homes for them & then we (read: Josh) moved them in.
If I were a betting man, I would have put good money down that this would be then last we'd see of Stretch & Tiny. I mean, I learned about metamorphosis in school, but I only half believed it. Some things just stretch credulity, you know? The fact that a lovely butterfly could grow out of some dusty, suspended turd seemed improbable at best.
But then! One afternoon I peeked into Stretch's box & was a-to-the-fucking-stonished to see this:
And so, just like that, it was time to say goodbye to our insect friends. We took them outside & said our farewells.
Tiny was off like a shot, but Stretch required a hand getting out of the box.
He hung out on the bush for a few hours while we fretted, but eventually Stretch took off for parts unknown, as well.
What remained.
And so, what I've learned is this: despite the miraculous beauty & mystery of nature, I am still totally & utterly grossed out by the whole thing.
