08/25/2026
Hey ya'll it's Angelica, mother to the beautiful children of A Child's Hand, if you didn't know who I am.
Yesterday I was very proud of my children for different reasons regarding the same experience.
While we were working in our garden I saw this beautiful green caterpillar. I got excited and worried cause it was barely moving. I hope I didn't injure it because I was weeding with the claw.
It was barely moving and I was like aww I want to take care of it and see it evolve into a butterfly. I didn't do that experiment as a child or in school.
So I looked up what kind of caterpillar it was and how to take care of it. My youngest two daughters were all for it, my eldest son just asked if I wanted him to make an enclosure for it out of cardboard box, however my second eldest son said "Nope, I don't want no part of it."
We got a jar, put some sticks in it and put hole in the lid and the caterpillar started moving more however I was rethinking because we no longer had milkweed in our garden so I was thinking of going to our community garden to get some.
On to the proud moments that happened during the vote to keep it or release it at our community garden.
Two of my children said no because they said it belongs in nature. My second eldest daughter was like just let Mom keep it so she can have the chance, she's feeling sad about letting it go. And of course my youngest daughter started to get emotional she wanted to keep it too.
The final decision....I put it back in our garden on a plant cause it was started to slow and be still again. And when I did, it begin to have life again so to speak.
I'm proud of my two children who reminded me to respect nature by letting it go because that's where it belongs.
I'm proud of my second son for not taking part in something he knew was wrong, didn't agree with it and voicing it. Even if it was towards me, his mother.
I am proud of my daughter for sticking up for me and caring about me.
I'm proud of my youngest daughter who helped take steps to take care of it.
I'm proud of my eldest son for offering to help house it.
All in all, I it was beautiful to see that all the principles and teachings I pour into them show in a different way and how it varied from my own childhood experiences.
I love nature and I'm glad I have my children to remind me, to respect it. I am very confident and hopeful that in my children's hands, Mother Earth and her creations will be protected. I just gotta keep putting in the work myself and teaching them.
