For the Mamas

There are robins building a nest in the evergreen by our front door. I noticed long strands of straw-coloured grass and pretty blue string fluttering from the prickly ends of the branches near a small opening in the tree one day last week, and every now and then when I glance out the window I catch a glimpse of the mama bird flying into it with a beak full of soft mud, gathered from the backyard where we've recently laid some new sod. I always feel a tender sentimentality when the birds nest near our home in the spring. Watching the robin eggs hatch under their parents' care, seeing tiny pink birds grow into feathered fledglings who bravely spread their wings in such a short period of time makes me keenly aware of how quickly the years with my own two boys are passing.

My Facebook feed today is filled with lovely words of thanks and photos of beautiful moms of all ages, each of whom, in her own way, has created a safe haven for her children, nurtured them over the years, inspired them to sing, to spread their own wings and to fly. I've read them all and felt moved to know so many kind, strong women in my life. We are unique in the ways we mother, each of us, yet so many of our hearts beat in the same powerful, singular rhythm: we love.  

This pretty song, which I first heard on Rebecca Woolf's blog several weeks ago, seems a fitting tune for today, for all of the mamas who give so much of themselves to the families they cherish.

Happy Mother's Day to the many wonderful mamas I know, and especially to my own beautiful Mom. Though we live far away from each other, I can always hear her sweet melodies in my heart; her love is the gentle breeze that lifts me as I encourage my own two birds to soar.