I think I've mentioned that my daughter was accepted into college. I wrote the deposit check yesterday. It's a done deal. This prompted me to say the words to her (that I do not say nearly enough) "I'm SO proud of you!" Because truly, I am. I assumed she would get in, but that shouldn't mitigate the accomplishment.
I realized the other day that I have achieved an amazing milestone. My daughter appears to appreciate....to some degree, how hard it is for me to be her mother.
I chose those words carefully. Because, it's not just that it's hard to be a mother, or hard to be her mother, but it's the combination of those two things that takes the real effort.
For you visual thinkers, the Venn diagram would consist of a circle on the left called "Just getting through the day with my own self created bullshit" and the circle on the right would be called "Motherhood" and the very tiny sliver in the middle would be the sweet spot.
This, of course, makes me appreciate my own mother more. (Which I didn't think was possible because my mother is pretty phenomenal.)
She sends me pictures like this after she has decorated for Christmas:
And she sends me emails like this one today (a group email, obviously, in which I was included:
I had to send you all this. We just noticed an eagle off Weeks wetland who had just caught a large duck with quite a bit of white -- probably a bufflehead, but it was pretty big (could it have been a goldeneye?) Anyway, it was too heavy for him to lift off again, so we watched him "swim" it over to shore, where he is now feasting (with his mate on a nearby post waiting his or her turn.) Feathers everywhere. Just quick I-phone pics and the cropped one is pretty blurry (wish you and your camera had been nearby, Peter!) but hopefully you can get the idea. It was pretty amazing to watch the eagle doing the breaststroke with its wings! It had to stop a couple of times to rest, but finally made it.
Just a typical morning on Fisherman Bay!
Have a good day, everyone!
Accompanied by this photo:
See the eagle in the water there, just about the edge of the roof???
I am convinced that birds everywhere (or at least in this remote corner of the world) are better off because my mother is out there keeping an eye on everything. Her own flock doesn't require quite as much tending any more.....so she has time to devote to this local feathered one.
And that's what mothers do. We try to notice the unusual and amazing things our children do....we do our best to capture it with whatever tools we have at our disposal, and then we share it, with pride, with anyone who will listen. That's the stuff in the sweet spot.
I realized the other day that I have achieved an amazing milestone. My daughter appears to appreciate....to some degree, how hard it is for me to be her mother.
I chose those words carefully. Because, it's not just that it's hard to be a mother, or hard to be her mother, but it's the combination of those two things that takes the real effort.
For you visual thinkers, the Venn diagram would consist of a circle on the left called "Just getting through the day with my own self created bullshit" and the circle on the right would be called "Motherhood" and the very tiny sliver in the middle would be the sweet spot.
This, of course, makes me appreciate my own mother more. (Which I didn't think was possible because my mother is pretty phenomenal.)
She sends me pictures like this after she has decorated for Christmas:
And she sends me emails like this one today (a group email, obviously, in which I was included:
I had to send you all this. We just noticed an eagle off Weeks wetland who had just caught a large duck with quite a bit of white -- probably a bufflehead, but it was pretty big (could it have been a goldeneye?) Anyway, it was too heavy for him to lift off again, so we watched him "swim" it over to shore, where he is now feasting (with his mate on a nearby post waiting his or her turn.) Feathers everywhere. Just quick I-phone pics and the cropped one is pretty blurry (wish you and your camera had been nearby, Peter!) but hopefully you can get the idea. It was pretty amazing to watch the eagle doing the breaststroke with its wings! It had to stop a couple of times to rest, but finally made it.
Just a typical morning on Fisherman Bay!
Have a good day, everyone!
Accompanied by this photo:
See the eagle in the water there, just about the edge of the roof???
I am convinced that birds everywhere (or at least in this remote corner of the world) are better off because my mother is out there keeping an eye on everything. Her own flock doesn't require quite as much tending any more.....so she has time to devote to this local feathered one.
And that's what mothers do. We try to notice the unusual and amazing things our children do....we do our best to capture it with whatever tools we have at our disposal, and then we share it, with pride, with anyone who will listen. That's the stuff in the sweet spot.
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