Birds, Bunnies, and Bumblebees

Sitting in my backyard, my favorite things to watch and listen to are birds and bunnies. Yes, in Arizona, we have the cutest bunnies from as small as my hand to as big as a small cat. They run around our backyard and the entire neighborhood zipping in and out of the draining holes of the block fence.

          As far as birds, of course there are tons of birds here, especially in the winter; everybody knows birds fly south. But, you may not have known this interesting fact: even some Arizona birds fly south (more souther) for the winter. They are searching for a different food source. Cool! I am not a birdwatcher, but I could see myself becoming one when I grow up and retire. The songs they sing are so lovely and enjoyable, lifting any downcast mood. You cannot stay down in the dumps when you hear that soothing chirping. Okay, there are some birds that aren’t as enjoyable, but try sitting outdoors one early morning and listen to most of them talk away.

          There is another “B” animal, or shall I say insect, that resides in our backyard at times. One particular season, it was more like 10,000 to 20,000 bees to give a rough estimate. Nobody will ever know for sure.  We were not manufacturing honey, but boy those bees sure were working hard.  A beehive was under our roof by a window.

          Our family had no idea there was a whole other family moving in and taking on full residency. Not until one morning during a prayer meeting I hosted in my home. I’ll never forget when one of the ladies must have turned to look out the window and said something about a bee hive. It went something like this, “Wow, did you know you have a big bee hive on your house, Julie?” I’m sure I responded reasonably and then took a look. That was when my jaw dropped and entire body froze.

          A flood of thoughts took over my mind. My kids played outside. They swam outside in the pool.  Kurt worked outside on the yard. I worked outside trying to keep flowers alive. Our dog and turtle lived out there, too. How could we not know this was happening?! My mind kept going back to the 1974 movie, “Killer Bees”. Apparently, it must have been such a popular movie, a remake came out in 2002. I only saw the older version, because I watched scary movies back then when I didn’t get freaked out as much as I do now as a grown adult woman.

          Thankfully, I found a beekeeper who would come out within days to take the hive away to a bee farm and allow the bees to live in a new home just for them. I learned so much about bees talking to the beekeeper. Fully covered from head to toe, he would extract all the bees, and keep them in a canister while being transported to the bee farm. Then, the hive could be taken down. The gentleman explained to me that he was able to extract the Mother Bee.

          What?! How did he know who she was? I know she didn’t wear a crown like in the cartoons. Apparently, the mother bee has a “distinct” personality, which is evidenced by how the other bees respond and act around her. Incredible!

          Immediately, I thought about what defined me as a person, a mother and wife. I was a mom of four pre-teen and teen children, and it’s kind of obvious that I was the mom by my size and mature facial features (nice way of saying “older looking”). What kind of mother was I, and did I become the type I aspired to be?

          I was passionate about keeping our faith in Jesus a big part of our family and raising children who would always have close relationships. Everything I did revolved around that vision I had ingrained in my mind and heart. I gladly held the role of being at home with the children as I supported Kurt’s work hours and efforts to sustain our family budget. 

          To press in further, today, I ponder what defines me now? How I act or think? My personality, not just my calling as a wife and mom? There are so many personality quizzes, and my favorite revealed to me long ago I am a sanguine. I love to start a project and don’t always finish it. I love to have parties and create memories.

I am a person driven by relationships. Relationships with people in my family and close friendship circle. Relationships with families on my children’s sports teams. Relationships with people I work with as a teacher. Relationships with my students. I thought about how I interact with strangers, both those in need of help and those at a store as the employee or the shopper.

          Thinking about the traits and features that define us may be a great way to REFINE us. We carry around a blend of good and bad personality traits. One idea to refine us is by asking someone close to us for help in identifying our blind spots, or weaknesses. It takes a humble spirit to seek out truth like this. But, who says we have to be comfortable and perfect? It takes discomfort to grow and change as imperfect people.

          I want change for the better, even if it is a little messy to get there. I’m not gonna have a perfect personality, but I can take steps to identify my strengths and weaknesses and tweak some things here and there. There is hope in a new you and me, and it’s found in taking some time to really consider what defines us.

          What is our purpose and mission? What kind of vision do we have?  My daughter’s friend has just written and published a riveting and honest book about purpose. Check it out! “You’re On Purpose” by Mackenzie Rapier. Proud of you, Mackenzie! My book is coming soon, too!