Val Rebuffs the Green-Eyed Monster

Last Saturday, The Pony sent me a picture while on his mail route. Two pictures.

 

"Divebombed by a ladybug yesterday, and now they're all over boxes today."

 

"Sweet!"

Of course I was jealous. I did not begrudge The Pony his multitude of ladybugs. But of course I wished I could be the recipient of an encounter.

Ladybugs remind me of my mom, who had a drop-ceiling full of them in her family room, and would not call an exterminator. She merely vacuumed them with her Dustbuster and let them go outside. Besides, she explained, they mostly went back up in the ceiling after dark. After she died in February of 2015, I began seeing ladybugs everywhere. The oddest sighting was probably at Parent Conferences that fall, in my classroom, crawling in the nostril of a baby held by one of my students.

Anyhoo... on Wednesday as I walked back to T-Hoe in front of Country Mart, a ladybug swooped down from the sky, right in front of my face, and landed on my chesticle area. I wanted to get a picture (for proof, not to flaunt it to The Pony), but I couldn't juggle my scratchers and the phone camera. These days I don't clutch my scratchers in my teeth as I have done in the past. Even though I had gotten them from the machine, untouched by clerky hands, you never know what might be lurking on them.

A few steps later, my ladybug flew away. Hope her house wasn't on fire, with her children alone! 

It was a nice encounter, and put me in a really good mood. Which improved even more later that evening, when my scratchers revealed total winnings of $164. 

I'm sure The Pony would be happy for me if I sent him a text.

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A List of Some Ladybug Sightings

1- She Put a Bug in My Ear
March 21, 2014 The original ladybug tale. It's at the end of this post, I swear.

2-Now There's a Little More Slaw in the World For the Rest of Us
February 4, 2015 No ladybugs, just the day Mom passed away.

3-The Mind Makes Mysterious Connections
March 1, 2015 The first ladybug sighting, on The Pony's laptop.

4-I'm Gonna Need a Chart to Keep a Tally
March 7, 2015 Ladybug on the bathroom floor(with William Carlos Williams-type poem)

5-Call Me Crazy, Maybe 
March 12, 2015 Ladybug in my car at school.

6-Truth is SO Much Stranger Than Val's Convoluted Tales
March 17, 2015 When a ladybug appeared on Peg Bundy's forehead.

7-Things That Make You Go "WTF?" in the Night
October 23, 2015 A ladybug makes an appearance at parent conference night.

8-An Unexpected Message on Christmas Day
January 4, 2016 A winter ladybug shows up at a family gathering.

9-It's Been a While, But the Message Came Through
June 7, 2016 A ladybug visits me on the porch during worries about The Pony.

10-Maybe It Wasn't Alive, But It Was the Next Best Thing(s)
June 28, 2016 Val sees two ladybugs while taking The Pony on a college visit.

11-Hello, Oklahoma Oil-Driller, Let Me Thank You for Your Time. You Work a 40-Hour Week for a Livin', To Move This Convoy on Down the Line
August 23, 2016 A ladybug sighting again while moving The Pony to Oklahoma for college.

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12-Of Moms and Males and Serendipitous Tales

Nov 23, 2016 A convoluted tale of Hick's return from a business trip, and the origin of the above list of ladybug sightings.