INFINITE LOOP by Jane Kelley

Around and around we go. Rewriting, I mean. Just when you think you've fixed every little thing, you find another ghastly sentence. A trite turn of phrase. A gaping plot hole. Or maybe you hear a tiny voice whisper -- are you sure you couldn't make this better? 

Enough already. Right? If it's not working by now, maybe you should just chuck the whole project. I hear there are good jobs to be had in telemarketing. 

It's hard to keep going sometimes. Right?

Last month, I wrote about finding monarch caterpillars. I waited for them to emerge.

The typical time for transition inside the chrysalis is 10 to 14 days. We watched and waited 15, 16, 17, 18. Experienced monarch raisers told us that they had never seen a butterfly emerge after that. Watched and waited. 19, 20, 21.

ENOUGH, I said. It's time to give them a decent burial. I can't stand to look at them anymore and think about what might have been. 

But we didn't bury the chrysalises. It was raining that day. The day after that, guests arrived. The day after that, I looked. 

The green was becoming transparent. On the 23 day, the wings of the butterfly were clearly visible. 

And on the 24th day, the butterfly emerged.

As you see in this photo, its wings are a little crumpled. This is normal. The monarch pumps fluid from its abdomen into the capillaries of the wings. The wings stretch and flutter for a few more hours. 

Finally, on the 25th day, after being inside the chrysalis for twice as long as they were supposed to be, the two monarch butterflies flew. We hope all the way to Mexico. 

Meanwhile, I am humbled and a little embarrassed by my lack of faith. 

Don't give up!!!! Don't let other people tell you what the time table is. The project that looks black may just be in the final phases of breaking free from the chrysalis and starting to fly.

Jane Kelley is no long the observer of two monarchs and so may be able to get more writing done.