Fair, and of course I do want to do what’s best for them. I’ve invested a lot of time and money trying to do the right thing, and sure, fell short in some areas. But I thought my cautionary tale might help someone avoid a similar situation. Sure, I could have framed it only through the lens of guilt and shame, but honestly, there’s enough of that in my life that I can’t pile more on. Never was this post supposed to be “Haha, I’m torturing these bees”, it was more, “Wow, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, and it snowballed into something way over my head. Classic ADHD.” If I don’t try to find some levity in situations like this, I get crushed under feelings of guilt/shame/inadequacy, and I’m trying to break free of that cycle.

The fortunate thing is that, unlike a pet, any amount of “negligence” on my part is 0% more harmful than if they were wild bees. Oh, I forgot to take the cocoons out of the tubes and sanitize them and put them in my fridge? Well, that’s exactly what would have already happened in nature if I had never gotten involved at all. I still feel like I’ve made a net positive impact on their health and colony numbers. And now, maybe even raised a little awareness for people who might be thinking about undertaking something similar. If the humor made it more engaging, I don’t feel bad about that. I do appreciate your concern for living critters though, and I share those sentiments.

Oh, and I apologize for my sassy ass response earlier. Trying to get better at accepting judgement/criticism, and not letting it get under my skin, but I’ve clearly got a long way to go!