Everyone knows me as a ladybug collector. I don’t remember when that aspect of myself started. I only remember that I always liked them and I remember when I started loving them.

I worked in New York City before I became a mom. When you depend on public transportation to get you to work, you are subject to delays of all sorts even if you give yourself plenty of time. In other words, it’s always rush, rush, rush. On one particular day, the subways were running very late and I was running to the office. I was, of course, muttering some choice words as I tried not to bump into people who always seemed to know the exact moment to move in my path. All of a sudden I felt something hit my neck. I brushed it off and saw that a ladybug had “run” into me. I stopped. I oohed and aahed. Like a kid I was fascinated by it and counted its spots. I looked for a nearby tree and gently set it upon a sturdy branch. I said goodbye to it and ‘walked’ the rest of the way to work. I felt happy. I realized then that God had sent that ladybug to me as a way of telling me to relax and see the beauty of his world.

Now I’m known as a ladybug collector. I didn’t realize I was a ladybug collector until I started getting ladybug things as gifts from my friends and family for no special occasion. Actually, most of my items come from them. They are everywhere in my house. With the exception of my daughter’s bedroom, which is a shrine to Star Wars, there is a ladybug item somewhere in the house. The count is up to 246 ladybug items. I have a ladybug mug, ladybug soap dispenser, ladybug salt and pepper shakers, ladybug magnets, a collection of ladybug socks.... well, you get the picture... ladybug toilet seat cover. But what I treasure most is the thought that these people think enough of me to get me these things. Likewise, I think of them every time I see the things they lovingly gave me.

Yup! Ladybugs are a heavenly sign of all that is nice in this world. Now if I could only find a Han Solo with a ladybug ......

"Nature always tends to act in the simplest way."
~Bernoulli