Thursday, November 24, 2016

More Than an Ant Farm

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Nico (right) and Christopher enjoying Christmas early. Nov. 2016

November 24, 2016


I bought Nico and Christopher an ant farm last Christmas. This week our order arrived! Uncle Milton, the company, not a crazy family member.  Mailed our order that we placed back in March. Better late then never. I didn’t know much about farming ants anyhow so I had a chance to Google the process and learned! And what I found was like humans ants realize that they need a plan of action in order to survive.

I ripped open the package expecting ants to scatter everywhere!  But thankfully the ants were in a secure, clear tube, with tape fasted on the edges. Those ants looked menacing. They were rabid and ready to stretch their legs.

The ants were full of activity. So far it’s pretty cool to see them inside that 4-inch tube. I could only imagine how it would feel to swallow that thing like an aspirin. It was easy to think of all sorts of horrors one could do with those ants. Yikes!

I poured the vile like if it was a pitcher of water. As I tilt the plastic tube the ants dumped inside. Nico and Christopher watched them scatter like leaves blowing in the wind.  The ants didn’t think what there actions would be now that they were freed. Their natural instincts took over and the ants did what God intended them to do which was to adapt and survive in their new environment.

The ants immediately assessed their situation and scattered about looking for the best place to begin their new life. Once they settled on a plan I watched them regroup with each other into their designated positions and got to work.

One ant found the pre made holes I made for them and immediately began to dig its way inside. Other ants soon joined in and helped dislodge and relocate the little green gel pellets he cut loose. The other ants looked around searching for other pre made holes. The found the 3 other holes and they quickly got to work.

Within hours the holes got deeper and wider. The length plunged towards the bottom and then horizontal in the green gel as they dug deep down inside. The other ants did the same. They built and created a new home. It took time and patience but they adapted and survived.

The determination they had to plant their roots down and make a new home impressed me. Here these ants were cultivated in some lab and then displaced from a world they only new. They were shoved in a smaller vile. Mailed. And then removed again from their safety and placed into another overwhelming home. But they did what they did to survive because failure meant death and their instincts isn’t made to die but to live.

We as humans can learn from all forms of life. Here, these ants are on the lowest realms of life. They are almost insignificant in the after thoughts of other living things. And in an instant their life can be ended by the swat of the human hand and yet they preserver. They want to live and be productive in their short life spans.


I learned a lot about ants as it relates to the human spirit. No matter where we are in life there are no excuses as to why we can’t be successful on what we do. Humans are intelligent, self-aware, and have the ability to rationalize. I may not have known much about ant farming before I bought them but I know enough about them now to know that in my own life I will keep fighting no matter where life uproots me. My lesson was more than just an ant farm.


** Today is an American holiday. Thanksgiving. I am thankful to my new life. I am thankful for the people in my life. I am thankful for a job that supports my family. I'm also grateful that I have thousands of people who read about my life after all these years! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates.



Captain Imperfecto going to training. Nov. 2016.

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