‘Bum’ble Bee

I was strolling over to the ferry for a meeting in Manhattan the other day, past the gorgeous flowers that line my building.  I was pondering – are they begonias? Are they azaleas? Both? When I noticed that many of them looked like they were moving.  I looked closer, and they were heavily populated by big, fuzzy bumble bees!  I am a true lover of bees – their industry, their community, just kind of everything about them.

My only unpleasant bee situation was probably not even bee related – it was likely a wasp or hornet, or some such thing.  It happened about 30 years ago, when we lived in Wyoming, and I had three babies.  I had made a few dresses for summer and was wearing my favorite bright flowery one. The dresses were loose enough for me to move comfortably, and the prints busy enough for them to be used to wipe tears, grubby little hands, and other baby detritus without being unseemly.

I had a newborn, a 2 year old and a 3 and a half year old. I had finally worked up the courage to attempt one of life’s most difficult feats.  No, not an iron man competition. I wasn’t facing an Olympic trial or the firing squad.  I was taking them all to the grocery store – by myself.

Imagine the scenario – one baby in a tummy pack, the two bigger ones in their two-passenger stroller and then there was me, trying to get them all situated into their respective car seats.  Of course, such undertakings cannot happen without a little drama.  I had gotten the baby into her infant seat, and was leaning far into the car, buckling the other two into their toddler seats, when some stinging creature took that opportunity to go up my dress, and sting me right on my bum!  Of course,  I shrieked, the children shrieked, I tried to get the creature out, and naturally, all of the children started to wail.

There I am, half in, half out of the car, dress flapping in the wind with all three little ones bawling. I don’t actually remember if I made it to the store that day, or if I just unloaded everyone and returned, deflated and bee stung, to my house.  Probably the latter – sometimes there are just too many red flags to continue down your chosen path.

Anyway – I’m betting it wasn’t a harmless bumblebee – probably one of those wasp bastards.  I don’t know why they exist – are they food for someone else?  Are they just there to antagonize humans?  I’m sure they have a place in the ecosystem, but I can’t imagine what it is.

Arthur has a bee teething ring that he loves the most, even though he is fully toothed. For some reason, the shape and color and size of it just thrill him, and he gnaws on it when it is uprooted from the bottom of the toy chest.  He laughs when we make a buzzing sound and fly it around. Oh, the things we’ll do to get a laugh.  Such a happy little love! Today was beach day with him – he played in the sand with his parents, walked in the ocean and loved the wind in his face. We went to the playground and he played until he had no choice than to fall fast asleep on the way home.