The Legend of the Butterfly Angels, Legend Series, Book 1

Often when we think of our children, or any other children for that matter, we worry about how vulnerable they are and in so many different ways. As infants, we worry about their basic needs, like food and warmth or whether the formula is either too hot or too cold. And later on, as they advance from crawling to walking, we celebrate their wonderful achievements, but we also worry about falls they might have or “what they might get into.” In fact, there are so many stages of growth, and even sub-stages, that it is impossible to know or to predict what children of any age might do or think about, especially as they become aware of their peers.
As a widowed father who reared two daughters from the ages of three and five years old, I now understand how difficult life can be for them, especially for young girls as they evolve from their preteen years and into adolescence. Boys seem to worry about being strong enough or smart enough or even clever enough, but in many cases, they will simply emulate their dads or some other strong male role model because it is the “grown-up” thing to do. But girls are more likely to worry about self-image, even at a very young age.
In my case, there were times when I wondered if my girls and I even lived on the same planet as I tried to reach them. But now after having watched them grow to become beautiful “moms” themselves, I understand that in so many ways, not only was I not on the same planet, but in all probability, I was not even in the same solar system.
Every child, however, has basic needs just to survive like all of us. But there are other needs that in many ways are almost as important if our children are to become secure adults. Warmth, not the kind you get from your furnace but the kind that comes from your arms, your words, or your lips, are vital necessities if children are to become well-adjusted. And when a child knows unconditionally that he or she is loved and accepted for who they are, then in most cases they will flourish and make us so proud to be their moms or their dads.
The Legend of the Butterfly Angels is about the need to belong and to be free to be who we really are. It is a story about caring, loving, believing, sharing, blessings, heroism, and how in time it is possible to understand (if we will only listen) why God has put each one of us on His beautiful earth.
The story begins with Chloe Caterpillar, a little brown “girl,” who believes that she is ugly and that she has no friends. And because of this belief, Chloe knows that she is doomed to a life of loneliness and without anyone to care for her. Therefore, she attempts to hide herself from “all of the creatures in the forest.” But because of Mason Monkey’s caring ways, he went in search of Mrs. Wise Owl who he believed would help Chloe Caterpillar to realize that it would not be possible for her to always remain the same.
Mrs. Wise Owl would eventually snuggle Chloe up under her soft and fluffy wing and tell her why many eons ago, one of her tiny ancestors by the name of Angelina Caterpillar had been rewarded the “Miracle of Miracles” because of her sheer determination and heroism that was required to save a village and all of the people and the animals who lived there. And because of her unselfish courage, all future generations of caterpillars would forever more have the same “Miracle of Miracles” bestowed upon them. “You will not only be admired for your beauty, she said, “but you will be accepted by all other creatures on our beautiful earth.” “But now you must go back down by the pool at the garden gate and wrap yourself in your favorite Mulberry leaf…”
“It’s true, it’s true”, Chloe shouted to Mason Monkey as she kissed the lovely flowers and brightened the cloudless sky with her golden wings, and in time she would cause lots of children to shout, “Look Mom, there goes Chloe Butterfly!”