A lesson from beetles

At a McDonald’s drive-thru we found a couple of A – or scarab beetles – struggling to turn themselves over from backside to belly. Their shiny, black bodies too burly and heavy for their thin, spiny legs to lift. 

There were cars lined up and whizzing past them. Hurriedly I put the e-bike to a stop and scooped them with my bare hands.

My daughter squealed as the two beetles hissed and clung to my fingers, their coarse legs firm and ticklish to the touch. “Don’t let it near me!” she screamed, cringing and inching further away from me. I placed them inside a clear bag for later release in an open vegetated area at home.

“You know,” I said, trying to calm her down, “there are things that seem scary at first, but when you hold it and get to know it, you realize there’s nothing to be scared of. It means no harm and just wants a home.

“How did you know?”

I smiled. “Because I have loved.”