99-Year-Old Uses Butterflies To Teach Lessons About Life

A 99-year-old woman from the Midwest has always loved monarch butterflies. In fact, she has loved them since she was a young girl.

“I was kind of a bug kid,” Hoekstra said. “We would catch little creatures and keep them in match boxes.”

Wilma Hoekstra began raising butterflies when she moved to Iowa. She raised and nurtured them from tiny little eggs to the moment they spread their wings.

As a teacher, she uses them as a tool to teach lessons to the youngsters.

“I just felt the monarch butterfly had such a beautiful story, such a cycle of life that we can all follow in our own lives,” Hoekstra described.

The life cycle of these wonderful creatures holds lessons about sacrifice and kindness.

“They lay their eggs and then usually, in about two months or so, they’re dead,” Hoekstra said. But their caterpillars, their little ones are growing. These are the ones now that will go all the way to Mexico for winter, then come back to Texas in the early part of May and June and start the cycle all over again.”

Hoekstra's lessons were made into a book to pass on to her grandkids.

Source: WSFA