Remember how The Pony and I saw a spate of ladybugs right after my mom passed away? Ladybugs galore during the first two weeks of March? The joke being that Mom had a drop-ceiling full of them in her family room, which she refused to have exterminated. "Oh, they go back up in the ceiling at night." During the day, she would sometimes use her vacuum cleaner on them and set them loose outside. Like they couldn't find their way back in.
So for two weeks, we had four sightings. In our basement, in the master bathroom, inside T-Hoe, and on the TV screen at 6:00 a.m. Then nothing. Nothing through the spring or summer. Not until October 22, the day I had parent conferences, when Mom used to pick up The Pony to spend the hours of 1:00 through 6:00 with her. That night, just before the 6:00 closing time, the parents I was conferencing with found a ladybug inside the nostril of their infant. Right in front of my desk!
So...back to present time. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when we had to attend school until 1:00, The Pony made an interesting discovery down in the room where he takes his online college credit classes.
"Oh, Mom. I saw a ladybug today. I took a picture of it. I'll show you when we get home."
"A ladybug? Inside the school?"
"Uh huh. I was reaching to plug in my laptop charger, and there it was, right on the wall."
"Huh. Your grandma had her seizure the day before Thanksgiving last year. That's what started her health problems."
"I know."
"Kind of an odd coincidence, seeing a ladybug the day before Thanksgiving this year."
"Yeah. That's why I took the picture."
I can't help it. Every time I see a ladybug, I think of Mom.
I think you will be seeing a lot of them in the future as well.
ReplyDeletePerhaps. That dry spell lasted from March 17 to October 22. You'd think ladybugs would be common out here in the country during the summer.
DeleteLast night I had a dream and there was a lady bug in the trunk of my car. Was this subliminal from your post, or is your mom lurking your readers.
DeleteI would love for Mom to get the credit (like handing over a big salad that she didn't pay for). More than likely, rather than putting a bug in your ear, I put a ladybug in your trunk.
DeleteI, myself, had a dream last night that Mom and I were both getting our hair done for my wedding. She had hers touched up with her natural red color, in a tight frizzy perm, and of course mine was dark brown, in my regular style.
My "wedding dress" was a black skirt and a peasant blouse with a solid white back and a pinto-pony kind of black-and-white front. Perhaps I was exhibiting that I used to be virtuous, but was now a soiled dove.
No inkling as to whether Mom was trying to make a statement about my current husband.
Ladybugs are such pretty insects. I agree with Joeh. Your mother is still watching over you...
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think so. It gives me a lift when I see one.
DeleteLadybugs are also signs of good luck.
ReplyDeleteThat might explain why my ladybugless summer was deplorable.
DeleteThose who believe, KNOW. Just smile, and say hello.
ReplyDeleteThat might get me in trouble when the ladybug is inside a baby's nostril. Unless, of course, I could pass it off as talking to a breathtaking baby.
DeletePlease! I can't take any more conspiracy theories!
ReplyDeleteLike the ladybug...Val cannot change her spots. This is a conspiracy-friendly zone. But don't go telling me that you have Bigfoot in a cooler. I spotted that one a mile away. A couple of my teaching cohorts fell for it, oh so many years ago. Thank goodness we teach kids to think for themselves, not blindly follow what they read or see on TV or hear from us.
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