Sunday, May 10, 2009

All Kinds of Mothers



There are all kinds of mothers. One of my favorite mothers was the one we watched last spring at our home in Minnesota. A beautiful red Robin and her mate worked hard to build a nice warm nest that was quite deep. She then planted herself on that nest and stared at us in our warm house during huge wind storms and sometimes snow flurries. But she never wavered. To leave her nest even for a short time in those conditions would have meant certain death for her little eggs. I never had the good fortune to see her mate feed her, but he must have. She looked just like this artist's rendition that I found in Sisters, Oregon. The artists says there is always one more (see off to the left of the painting - a small beak?)


We were thrilled when the little baby Robins were born. She and her mate worked feverishly to feed these tiny, voracious creatures.


I had to leave Minnesota on a trip before they were all out of their nest, so my husband sent me this picture of the last one. He was taking a short rest on our porch before heading out to make a life of his own.


Mothering can be of the human variety, but also the non-human. Our animals are considered family in our home and many others. And what is more nurturing than someone who takes animals that have been neglected or abused and gives them love, warmth, and safety? They are truly mothers.


And then there is the Mother of us all - Mother Earth. She is the most caring. Despite being abused by us, she continues to love, feed, and nurture her children.


So for all out there that are Mother/Nurturers, please have a Happy Mother's Day and thank you for all that you do to make this world a better place.


19 comments:

Sniffles and Smiles said...

What a terrific post!!! I love this!!! Happy Mother's Day to you as well!!! ~Janine XO

CrazyCris said...

Lovely!

I get confused around Mother's Day every year... 'cause I can never remember the date! Comes from having "celebrated" it in too many different countries... Damn date keeps changing on me!

We celebrated Mother's Day last Sunday in Spain. Went up to my Aunt's house for a big family meal with my Grandmother.
In Belgium it's the same as in the US, 2nd Sunday in May. Which coincides with Mexico this year as Mother's Day there is on May 10th! And in France I do believe it's the last Sunday in May! All those years in Belgium I had to rely on my Dad or one of my sisters sending me a text message to remind me it was Mother's Day so I could call my Mom, I kept thinking the holiday was a week later! Lol! One year I actually missed it so I made up for it by wishing her a Happy Mother's day every time it hit the calendar. As in "Happy Belgian Mother's Day" "Happy Mexican Mother's Day" "Happy French Mother's Day" :p

In any case, it is another one of those "Hallmark" holidays, personally Mother's Day is 365 days of the year as far as I'm concerned! :o)

Valerie said...

Wonderful post. I have a baby robin in the garden, it comes for food without fear of the big birds who try to dominate. Unlike the rest of us, Mother Robin's don't like to keep their babies for long. Out they go to fend for themselves..... Valerie

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day LOL! My boys woke me up this morning with kisses on my nose! They are usually banned from my bed but I couldn't help it yesterday, they were too cute. So I'm assuming it was my fur-mother's day gift! I'll take that over slippers any day!
:-)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post! Happy Mothers Day!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for mentioning us mother's to abandoned animals. I absolutely love my three-legged-Beagle and my little Maltese. I just adopted a finch with a broken leg.
Being a mother is about loving and providing a warm shoulder to cry on.

This is a lovely post! Thank you for being our mother blogger!

Happy Mother's Day.

Desiree L Thompson said...

Thanks for the story of the Robbins. So nice to watch life grow. Happy Mother's Day.

dragonflydreamer said...

Yes, this is exactly what I was trying to express earlier today. All kinds of Mothers. I love the story about the birds. I have a great bird story about my husband with photos as soon as I can get them scanned. My youngest son doesn't like "Hallmark" holidays that are "expected" and a couple of years ago he boycotted getting me a card when he went with his brother and girlfriend to Hallmark. My feelings were hurt because I didn't stop to think about who he is and how every day is Mother's Day. Everyone mothers someone or something. Right now I am mothering my oldest son's pug who is greiving for him as he left yesterday to spend twenty days with his brother in Texas. Happy Mother's Day! Oh, I really need to read the comments first as I see that I am in like minded company. I just love your blog.

TheChicGeek said...

Awwww, thank you for the beautiful post! Lovely pics and sentiments.
Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Andrea said...

I love mothers - what would this world be like without them! Happy Mother's Day to you!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother Nature like all loving mothers do naturally out of love. Love just flows out of them in an endless stream. It's what God has put in their hearts-to give, care,and nurture.

We all need to show our appreciation by treating Mother Nature in a more loving way; for without her, we will no longer be.

Our Japanese brothers and sisters have been refusing to use plastic and paper bags. They have reached back into their tradition and started to use the furoshiki.

Please visit my post on the revival of the furoshiki.


http://nurturingwisdom.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/paper-plastic-or-furoshiki/

Sandra Costa said...

wow! beautiful words!
i didn't know it was mother's day everywhere, thought it was just in my country!

really beautiful words, so lovely!

susan said...

All the very best to you and your family on this lovely day.

Lori ann said...

Happy Mother's Day Lover! it looks like we had similar thoughts about the day, oh the robin is sweet!
♥ lori

Kay said...

What a great rendition of Mother's Day, I just love it; it is so true.

Natalie said...

Hey LOL! Hope you had a wonderful day. Your post has brought a smile to my dial, I love the dear little Robin. Thanks.xx♥

Unknown said...

i love this post- yes, mothering is very diverse xx

Ruth said...

It's nice to think about the mothering/nurturing we receive - even from non-mothers.

Nicole said...

what a beautiful post !!! and I love the pictures !! I hope u had a wonderful mothersday too :)