Hi Reader,

Yesterday I saved a bumble bee from certain death.

I was at the kitchen table with my morning coffee, notebook open, eyes drifting toward the sunshine.

Then something huge flew through the air and smashed into a spider's web. It hit so hard it looked like it had flown straight into glass.

I couldn't tell what it was. I just jumped up from my chair and ran outside.

It was a bumble. A huge one, stuck smack in the center of the web.

Now, I don't want a spider to suffer any more than I want a bee to. This wasn't a case of choosing spider or bee.

Or maybe it was.

Either way, I cannot sit and watch a bumble die. So I found some sturdy leaves that had fallen in the garden and carved him out of the web. I apologized to the spider. I'd ruined his artwork, and his meal.

The trouble was, the bee was covered in silk. He could barely move his legs. I watched for a moment to see if he was still alive.

He was.

So I kept him scooped on a leaf, carried him to the cat's water bowl, and dunked him. I'm sure it wasn't what he was expecting after barely surviving the web.

But the water loosened the silk, and I could slowly pull it from his legs and wings. I felt like a painter with a brush, only instead of laying strokes on a page, I was lifting them off a living creature.

He started to flap his wings. They were still too heavy to lift him off the ground.

So I dunked him again. I lifted his wings away from his body and pulled off whatever silk was left. Then he crawled onto my foot and walked up the leg of my pants.

We moved into the sunshine and sat together for a few minutes. Him working himself free of the tangles. Me pulling at every thread I could find.

I'd never "pet" a bumble bee before. I was amazed to be so close to him.

He tried his wings again. Only one came free.

So back to the water we went.

One more dip.

And this time, his wings beat strong.

He lifted off. Up past the edge of our roof. And away across the sky, to a new kind of safety.

I sat back down in the sun and smiled.

Grateful I'd been present enough to see what was happening.

And to save him.

With love,

Amanda

P.S. When was the last time you were fully present for something small? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.