if nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies...

so yesterday was my last day at a job i enjoyed for almost 11 years...the hardest part by far was saying goodbye to the kids.

i explained to the older students that out of the deep sadness i felt came an awareness of how incredibly blessed i am...blessed to be in a place and know such a group that make it SO hard to say goodbye. they are some amazing kids and because of working with them, i became brave enough to say goodbye to certain things in order to welcome new hello's.

i thought about how i could explain it to the younger kids...and then i remembered the story of the butterfly.

you know, a boy found a caterpillar and took care of him, noticed him changing, and watched him create a cocoon. the boy patiently waited for the butterfly to emerge...and one day it happened.  he saw a small hole in the cocoon and the butterfly struggling to make it out - because of the struggle, he decided to help - he cut the hole of the cocoon so the butterfly could finally emerge and it did...with a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. sadly, the butterfly was never able to fly.  he later learned that the butterfly was supposed to struggle, the struggle out of the tiny hole of the cocoon pushes the fluid from the butterfly's body into it's wings so the butterfly can fly...

we processed this a bit and i likened myself to the caterpillar, my job with the school had been my cocoon, and now i am a butterfly free to fly and explore the new possibilities and opportunities life has to offer.

i am thankful for my life experiences, appreciative of my struggles, and excited about the changes that lie ahead...because if nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.

peace & bliss,
amy

beautiful butterfly