My Mother Friends

Several weeks ago, we noticed that the vacant nest out on the back porch had once again been claimed "occupied" by a beautiful mother Robin bird and her four blue eggs! We were so excited that we now got to experience a second year of watching her care for and sit on her eggs and then eventually return to the nest over and over with food for her new babies. Jonah, especially, found this exciting and would give me daily reports of activity concerning Mother Robin and her nest!

Unfortunately, with life being as CRAZY as it has seemed to be lately, I "dropped the ball" and didn't snap a picture of the baby birds as they flew the coop last week! I could just kick myself!

Soon after Mother Robin began her brooding at our house, we noticed a mother Killdeer bird had chosen a lovely place in the flower bed for which she would lay four gorgeous brown speckled eggs! You can only imagine how ecstatic Jonah and John Owen were! "We've got all kinds of animals here, Momma!"

And as I sat there with my babies watching these other Mothers, I couldn't help but feel comfort in knowing that all I had to do was walk out my back door and be in the company of some great moms...Mothers who take the time to care for their young, spend endless energy to make sure their babies are safe and fed. I liked the fact that they felt the safety and security of our backyard to choose this place for carrying out their journey of Motherhood!

But I also couldn't help but see the parallel between how quickly time seems to fly by with my own children and how quickly those baby Robin birds left their warm nest and their mother only to set out on their own in this world! In the matter of one or two days we watched the progression of the baby Robins as they stepped out of the nest, then made their way to the playset, then to the fence, and then off into the world!

I know it sounds silly, but I have often imagined what these other Mothers think and feel...do they think and feel like me? I cried when I found that one of the babies didn't make it to the fence and was not able to complete his journey into the world. While I know that Mother Robin may not have the capacity to "feel" the loss of her baby, I couldn't help but feel it for her as I scooped up the lifeless body of one of the babies she had spent so much time loving, protecting and caring for. I do not know the circumstances that surrounded the death of this baby, but it reminds me that no matter what "kind" of Mother you are, there's no way to know the future. This experience reminds me that life is fragile and precious and that we should make the most of the time we have together on this Earth.

Most of all, this experience reminds me that being called "Mother" or "Momma" or "Mommy" is a gift...one that will last forever! It's a wonderful experience like no other...for one to be called someone's Mother!

So, to all of my wonderful Mother friends and to all of you out there reading this who are blessed to be called "Mommy"...

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you have a blessed Mother's Day weekend!

Love, Nicole


By the way...Mother Killdeer is still here...performing her motherly "duties" and we hope to see some babies soon! I hope to not miss these babies as they hatch and fly!:-)