4,500 Ladybugs

Today in science I taught all about ladybugs: how they chew from side to side, how females are larger than males, how they live 4-6 weeks. We studied and drew their anatomy. And then we released 4,500 ladybugs!

Of course, gardeners have been using ladybugs long before me. You can buy ladybugs at your local nursery instead of pesticides. And this is how my great idea began. But, it ended quite differently than I had hoped.

About 3,000 ladybugs into our project one little girl shouted and cried and lamented, "Ah! One crawled into my ear. Get it out. It hurts." No, it couldn't be. I know she is full of drama - but a ladybug in her ear? No way. But, I was wrong. Very Wrong. It only took a flash light and some tweezers to clearly see that ladybug stuck deep in her ear - her ear. And a ladybug fiasco on my watch, made me feel sick inside.

We called her mother - no luck. We called her father - no luck. We called the doctor and felt relieved that it wasn't a 9-1-1 emergency. And continued to try her parents. Three hours later, mom drove from San Francisco to find a significantly less hysterical daughter. In fact, Laura wanted to keep her ladybug when he came out. She liked it.

But, in all of the irony of a fictional story, the moment mom looked in that ear to see the ladybug -- he crawled out. She literally, watched him walk right out.

And despite ladybugs in ears, I had to share the adventure with my boys--just on a smaller scale. But, I can now say with all intention, "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home." Because I am all beetled out!