A couple of weeks ago, my daughter bore witness to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a lovely swallowtail butterfly such as the one above. This summer I’ve watched her blossom into someone deeply curious of the outside world around her; fearless and respectful as she flits from place to place inspecting crayfish in our creek, catching and caring for a newt and a salamander, and shedding her long-held fear of bees. She reminds me of myself when I was just a girl of eight, and I can’t help but smile as I rediscover the world through her eyes. As I told her the other night, she is definitely someone my eight year old self would have loved to have as a friend.
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