Motherhood In All It's Glory

I remember back when I was arranging for care givers for my Mother. One lady said to me caring for the elderly was not so different from caring for babies. They were just bigger. I remember thinking my Mom would have been livid at that assessment.

The care giver had her point though. I've been giving a lot of thought to the practice of "mothering" these days. I don't have children, but I'm mothering never-the-less, with Bacchus. Our animals are the only ones we go full cycle with as a general rule. For humans, parents aren't supposed to outlive their children. Unfortunately, that isn't always the way. I understand that pain. Even if my experience has been with dogs. It is my reality.

We started with a bundle of fluff, albeit a large one, that you could watch grow on a daily basis. We struggled through potty training, teething, switching from baby food to adult food. We lived through the terrible twos to the teens all within two years. We enjoyed the antics and adventures of youth and the dignity that came with maturity. We nursed scrapes and scratches and runny noses and sticky stuff in fur and bug bites. And now we wake each morning wondering if the old grey head will rise once more. Full cycle.

Mother's Day is a designated day of appreciation for all of this.

Spring is the perfect time. I remember many years ago when I did publicity for a small zoo in Washington. Spring birthing season was the time of year to get the TV crews to come out and photograph the new born. I've been marvelling at the mating and nesting habits of our backyard birds. The broken wing act of the Killdeer and the ferocious in-your-face screeching when you get to close, to the bullying of the Magpies. We have them all. They're all wonderful, living creatures bringing life into this world and nurturing it until it's able to fend for itself.

A couple of weeks ago a friend sent me a link to a live feed of an eagle's nest. I've watched her sit the eggs, watched them hatch and watched her feed them. She fusses over them, warms them, it touches one's soul.

It's a female thing that spans species wherever and whatever they may be. It's who we are and what we are meant to do in the grand scheme of things, each in our own way.

Another video has been making the rounds. I've received it from several people. It's a couple of years old, has been edited to be a nature film and sums it up perfectly. Add your look to the three million who have already viewed it. Don't mute it, the track is part of the story. It's motherhood - in all it's glory.