Bugs

My whole family buzzed with excitement when I opened an envelope recently with this caricature drawing of my sons from Neil Numberman, the talented and funny artist of the JOEY FLY, PRIVATE EYE books:

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A prize from Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo, Neil’s illustration here strangely captures something of the essence of my boys. Being a termite would be pretty cool – what other creature can eat a whole house?

Admit it. It would be fun to be a bug. Once you get past the hairy, skittering legs and compound eyesballs, creepy crawlies have some pretty fantastic abilities. Who wouldn’t want to fly, or shine a taillight without batteries?

My oldest son fantasizes about being a bug that can walk up walls. (I frequently find him hanging from doorframes).

My younger son spent the better part of his first grade year drawing and cutting out scorpions because . . . well, we’re not sure really. (We worry sometimes that expensive therapy may be in his future.)

My personal fav is the caterpillar. What other creature can do nothing but eat for a month, then take a serious two-week nap, only to wake up skinny and beautiful? But alas, I’m not a caterpillar. A month-long binge would only result in a spider spinning a web above my head declaring me “Some Pig.”

Strider bugs walk on water, monarchs can find their way to Mexico without a map, and no one messes with a rhino beetle. What kind of bug would you be?