Wings

Wings

My son Justin was four. He found a caterpillar and put it in a jar. Each
day he fed it fresh grass and leaves. In a few weeks the caterpillar was fat and ready to
sleep. One morning, we discovered the caterpillar wrapped in a cocoon. It hung from the
top of the jar, one of nature’s wonders.

Justin was excited. To him, it was Christmas. He knew a moth or butterfly was
about to be born, but he didn’t know what kind. He was curious to know what gift nature would give him.

“Dad!” He ran to me one day. “Something’s happening. Come see!”

He led me to his room. The cocoon had become translucent. We could clearly
see the wings of the unborn. A few days later, a beautiful black moth broke free from its
silky cage and began to lay eggs on the blades of grass in the jar, completing the lifecycle
of the little caterpillar.

The next day, I convinced my young son it was time to set the moth free. He
took it outside, opened the jar, and the little moth flew out. It circled the yard twice,
came back, and landed on Justin’s arm. He picked it up, tossed it in the air, and the moth
repeated its flight pattern. He tried over and over to set it free, but each time it would
return to his arm.

Justin gave up. He returned his little pet to the jar. The next day he attempted to
set it free again, and after a few return flights to his arm, the moth finally flew off into the
tall grass.

Like a person, I believe the moth was afraid to leave what was comfortable. It
wanted to stay with something familiar, scared to move on and experience new things.

I was once that little moth. My cocoon was my mother’s love. I was wrapped
comfortably in it. Like the moth, I didn’t want to fly too far.

My first job required me to move to a new city. I resisted. I was afraid. What
would I find there? I liked where I was.

Many times in my life, I have faced a move and resisted. Humans are creatures of
habit. We resist change. However, if I hadn’t moved, I would not have experienced many
new and wonderful things. I also would not have met many of my friends.
The moves have been between cites, provinces, states, and even countries. Each
move gave me the opportunity to learn and experience, but best of all, I met friends. I
hated to leave old friends behind, but when I thought about it, I didn’t lose them. They’re
still my friends. I talk to them regularly. However, I have even more friends now.

I’m glad I found my wings, because I found you!

Michael T. Smith

Story ID:	4670
Written by:	Michael Timothy Smith (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Story
Location:	Tantallon Nova Scotia Canada
Year:	1992
Person:	Justin