Butterfly, Butterfly,

Butterfly, Butterfly,
Go home to my mother.
Please tell her
how much I love her!

Not too many years ago in an old shoebox of memorabilia, I found a Mother’s Day card I made for my mother. I’m betting I was in Mrs. Goff’s second grade class when I created a butterfly with tissue paper wings and glued it to the front cover of the folded construction paper. On the inside I scrawled a poem with a No. 2 pencil:

Butterfly, butterfly,
fly home to my mother.
Please tell her
how much I love her.

Although it’s entirely possible that I copied this poem for an elementary school assignment, I want to say that I wrote it myself. I’ve Googled the lines, and I’m not finding them on the World Wide Web.

In the spring of 2015 or 2016, I re-gifted the handmade card to my mother, and she was thrilled with what I had made as a child and saved as an adult. This was before the Alzheimer’s advanced.

Today as my mother turns 80, I’m thankful for the opportunity to spend her birthday with her. And when we can’t be together, I’ll forever send her butterflies with all my love.





Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

70 thoughts on “Butterfly, Butterfly,

  1. Memories are such blessings. Sorry to hear of your Mother’s Alzheimer’s. This is tough on everyone, but especially on the loved ones who have to watch it. All the best. Allan

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    1. Thank you, Allan. My dad is perfectly healthy, my sister lives in my hometown, and my brother is not too far away. I drive to Oklahoma when I can, which is not often enough. Someday I need to write about my parents’ love story. ❤️

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  2. The butterflies Are a form of transformation; the sign of being born again!! I feel this way when I’m around you….. love the butterflies…. I look forward to the monarchs every year when they migrate to Mexico or South America. They have chosen my home as a habitat as I have chosen it as a ”Haven of Love” started back in the early 1900s by your great great grandmother in law, Mrs. J. C. Byers. So enjoyed our time together yesterday, making more memories along the way to be written down in our family journal!! Hope your day was fun filled with your mom and family. I cherish the many memories I’ve had with your mom through the years, and all our pictures together tell the story!!
    Love you to Houston, Texas and back!
    “Bear Hugs” 🤗🤗
    DanaNanaNinaMom 💕💕

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  3. Beautiful butterfly and A lovely post. My Mom started making cards when she was sick. She was artistic and each card was wonderful. She painted, drew and learned all types of techniques including from ww2 when paper was rationed. Your card was priceless also.

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  4. Breathtaking tale, Crystal. No inventiveness here, as your words made my throat catch, recalling as they do my own late grandmother’s loss to Alzheimer’s. It also describes the love and warmth she shared, even to the end.

    I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the poem you penned in second grade is a genuine Crystal Byers original. A writer now, a writer then, a writer always!

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    1. Thank you, Mark! I was surprised To find it. My mom must have saved it and given it to me in a box of my things at some point. I was happy to recycle the card, and even though it’s officially gone, the memory remains.

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  5. Love this!!

    On Wed, Feb 26, 2020, 6:53 AM Faith + Gratitude = Peace + Hope wrote:

    > Crystal Byers posted: ” Butterfly, Butterfly, Go home to my mother. Please > tell her how much I love her! Not too many years ago in an old shoebox of > memorabilia, I found a Mother’s Day card I made for my mother. I’m betting > I was in the second grade when I created a” >

    Liked by 1 person

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