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about six months ago, i found a beautiful dead Io moth in my garage and gave it an open-air burial in a flowering plant in the yard. i had no relationship with bugs at the time - had never willingly touched one, let alone grieved one. but ever since the tiny funeral, it feels like i jumped into this parallel life where, not only do i love bugs but i can't understand how i wasn't enamored with them for 36 years.

i can't stop seeing new ones that i'd never noticed before. they land on me and i don't panic like i used to - we hang for a bit before they head out. after having gone a lifetime never seeing an expectant mother spider, i've now found two in my house and escorted them away from feline danger. i saved a cave cricket from the basement a couple weeks ago and took a good, close peek at it before letting him go and was completely staggered that my immediate reaction was how freaking cute it was and happy i was to be able to help him out.

i think that if you told young me that someday i'd be a bug girl, the bug part would be a bigger surprise. but i love them and i think they're cute and i think there's some real magic in being able to spot a weird looking little guy chomping on a leaf and recognize that you're both just trying to get through the same day on the same planet - breathing the same air - both mostly worried about having a little snack. take care of yourself and the bugs in your life.