Bee Nap-py -ping

Tonight, my Mom chose a bee. This bee is full and happy and napping on his flower.

We got talking about her API Therapy (bee therapy) that she and my Dad bravely tried/endured for 6 months. "It was crazy," she said. "You could hear the bees buzzing in the hall closet." My Mom had heard reports that being stung by bees could decrease MS symptoms, and for 6 months she was off all medication. My Dad would mark the spot to be stung with marker, put ice on the chosen spot and pull an unlucky bee from the jar with medical tweezers and place it on my Mom, the bee would sting her and die. My Mom mentioned storing the jar of dead bees next to the live ones, I'll have to check with my Dad on that one. I'd like to apologize to the bee universe on behalf of my whole family if that did happen.

One night my Mom insisted she could do it herself, she was home with my sister. I was living in NYC. She let all the bees loose, and as she says, "your sister wanted to kill me."

I thought for the first time, how sad a fate it is for the poor medicinal bee.