When I returned from my vacation, I found two rock ladybugs sitting on my doorstep. They didn’t look exactly like the rocks I paint. Some child or beginning artist had painted them and placed them on my doorstep. I smiled. The multitude of painted ladybug rocks in my yard was obviously attracting more ladybugs.
I nestled the two newcomers into my flowerbed beside the one that a little girl gifted to me in July. Jeneva had found it in a park and thought it belonged at the “Ladybug House.”
I love having people stop to chat when I am working in my yard and they frequently comment on my ladybug rocks. I introduce them to Bertha Louise and her five small friends—Albert, Betty, Cindy, Darla, and Eugene. Sometimes I look out my window and see people stop. I watch them point out my ladybugs to their friends or children. I smile. I painted my rocks for me, but they are obviously bringing joy to others.
Every one of my ladybug rocks has been named. I record each name on the bottom of the rock. I have named my ladybugs from A to Z and entered their names in the Ladybug Registry on my computer. When I gift a rock to someone, I give them a Certificate of Registration. The name of my friend who now has a pet ladybug is recorded in my Ladybug Registry along with the date of the gift. I keep one ladybug out of each series and place it in my yard. I am currently naming rocks in the 15th series. (In case you’re doing the math, that is 390 ladybug rocks painted.)
The hot California sun is not kind to my ladybugs. Bertha Louise is on her third paint job. She was originally painted in 1986. Many of my other ladybugs have also been repainted. I take a picture of the faded, peeling ladybug so that I can reproduce the original facial expression.
It warms my heart to think that what I do makes a small, positive influence in someone else’s day. I look at the little sign on the wall above my computer. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” The reaction of others when they view my ladybug rocks tells me that I am succeeding in this small thing. Those who pass by the “Ladybug House” may not know my name, but they see my actions. It gives me joy to bring a small piece of happiness into the lives of others.