The Daring Life of a Roly Poly
On the way to school, my daughter and I use a sidewalk that splits a planter in two. Some mornings we must be extra careful as this sidewalk also serves as major thorough-fair for a roly poly (or rather, pill bug) community. They go in either direction, from the West to East or East to West. It’s not clear what is desirable on the other side that is any different than the one from which they departed. Both have the same plants, mulch, wetness, and soil. However, no matter what side the roly-poly wakes up on in the morning, it will daringly venture across the sidewalk to get to the other side.
Lovingly, we will gingerly walk through their paths. My daughter will save some lives on occasion. She will pick-up or roll the little bug out of the way and back into the planter from which it came or into the destination its seeking – the other side. While other students with their parents, pass us by. We rejoice in those we save and say sorry to that have already perished.
Gravely, when I return to the sidewalk after dropping her off at the gate, many of our roly poly friends are back in danger. I appreciate the perseverance of these little bugs. They blindly walk across which is at times the most perilous path. Some make it. Some don’t. Some get extra help. Some are held back. And yet they still press forward into the unknown.
Then I think about the sidewalk of my life. I blindly venture with a belief that something is on the other side. At times, I’m rolled up and kicked in the wrong direction. Then I unravel myself and try again. I don’t even expect to get picked up and moved to the right planter (although I wouldn’t mind the lift), I’m just okay with not getting squished. I believe just like these little bugs, I will get to the other side. And it may not be what I imagined, or it could be everything I could have ever hoped.
The other day I saw another kid inspired by my bug hero, pushing the roly polys out of the way. The dad was not pleased by the distraction and pulled at the kids arm to keep moving forward. And then the man gave me a look like, “look what you started.”
If he only knew of our rescue efforts for the earthworms after a rain.