Do You Believe In Lady Bugs?

Here is a good one for any adoptive family who does not believe in lady bugs, the somewhat sappy unofficial symbol of our daughters adopted from China. I am not lady bug nuts or anything but this incident made me smile.

Ava and I were coming out of the building where she attends Chinese language school. I was speaking with another parent as she played with another child (also Chinese adopted). The kids were facinated with all of the lady bugs that were right there where they were playing. Lady bugs kept landing on Ava's shirt and she was interested in seeing if they would stay with her as she played. When we got into the car she asked if she could keep one that was one her finger. She had that bug for about 15 minutes. She begged me to keep it. I said that if she were very gentle with her she could keep her until we got home. Hey, if the little bug is truly begging to be with Ava, I can't tell her otherwise.

Well, we didn't go home right then. I had a few errands to do. We drove around and Ava gave me the play by play from the back seat as the lady bug stayed right with her. She promised me that she was being gentle and would be a good friend to the lady bug.

Another 20 minutes passed and I had to run into my local Old Navy. I told Ava that the bug would probably fly away in the parking lot. It didn't. It stayed with her even in the store. We walked all over that store. Ava and I stopped at a tee shirt table and were minding our own lady bug business when a woman walked around the same table 2 or 3 times staring at Ava staring at the lady bug. Just when I was about to get very weirded out the lady apologized and said that she couldn't stop looking at us because she is a few months away from getting her baby's referral from China. She just couldn't believe seeing a Chinese little girl with a little lady bug. (I know I know, the cliche is just almost too much to handle. But this is a true story folks.)

She was a nice lady who did not mean any harm. She politely introduced herself. In fact, we are using the same agency. She asked how long the lady bug had been with Ava. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it had been with her for almost 1 hour. The lady laughed and thanked us for making her day.

She turned to continue her shopping and not 30 seconds later...the lady bug flew off Ava's finger. She flew high up into store rafters, gone.

For as attached as Ava was to that little bug she did not even fuss when it left her. She just said that the bug would probably go home home to be with her buggy friends.

Now, my fellow adoptive parents, do you believe?