Becoming a Butterfly

Butterflies go through several stages of their lives: Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly.

From any of the first three it is be hard to imagine the end result. When I asked my niece what a caterpillar would turn into when it grew up, she said, with confidence, "A snake." Doesn't that seem more understandable that that fat inchworm turning into a flying beauty?

I imagine each of the transformations has its own kind of pain and difficulty.

I've had a few incarnations, with a bit of pain in between: Biologist/Cancer researcher, Social Justice Advocate, Mom. Now I feel like I'm finally emerging from my cocoon, stretching my wings, drying them out, and starting to fly.

What am I as a butterfly? I'm a writer and educator. I've finished a draft of my novel and I am gathering up some assignments as a coach, poetry teacher, and trainer. The wings are still not completely dry so I am still in the transformation stage. It's still painful sometimes but mostly I am through the pain of letting go of my last incarnation, and I am experiencing the joy of learning how to fly.

The weird thing is that it took the cancer to get me out of my chrysalis. Without the cancer, I would not have quit my job and put my heart into my writing. Thank you, cancer, for making me a butterfly.