A Mama and Her Fledglings

On Sunday we found a baby bird that was out of it's nest. Technically it is a fledgling because it has it's full feathers. We thought about trying to do something to protect it, but then saw it's mother (a robin) working frantically to get it food and move it to a safer location. We left them alone.

On Monday morning while walking I saw it nestled down in the grass.

I went up to check on it later in the morning, and it was fine. Then some movement caught my eye a little further down in the yard and I noticed the mama with another fledgling. That poor mama was working furiously to feed and protect them both, even though they were going in different directions. I could feel her stress.

It got me thinking about a scene from my day Sunday. I was doing laundry and looked out the window as Kyndal was driving up the street to go see her friend who is in the hospital. She slowed down and stopped to talk to Dawson who was walking back home from going up to his friend's. He had his best friend, his dog Crusoe and Brynne riding on her scooter. I thought at that moment, "that's my life out there". I've got one driving away, a couple coming home, and one upstairs. They are everywhere and I can't keep track of them all.

I am like that mama bird and my kids are like those fledglings.

Fledglings are either pushed out of the nest by their siblings or decide, prematurely, that they can survive outside the nest, so they tumble out. The problem is, they can't yet fly.

As mamas we know that there are innumerable dangers out there for our fledglings. They are called "fledglings" for a reason ... they are fledgling around, trying to survive on their own. They just don't get how dangerous that world is out there. They think they are ready.

My teenage daughter is like the first fledgling I saw yesterday. She thinks she's ready to handle life on her own. She drives away without a thought in the world of all the dangers that await her. I stand nearby, trying to keep her close, trying to keep her fed with the knowledge she needs to make it. Yet, she keeps walking (or driving) away from me.

At the same time I have another fledgling in the form of a 14 year old boy. He's not quite ready to be too far away from me. He's out of the nest, but he keeps following me around for that protection. It won't be long before he is brave enough to wander a little further away, probably before he is truly ready. And I will stress. I will have one fledgling here and another one there and they will be going in opposite directions and I'll still be trying to keep them close, trying to keep them safe, trying to keep them fed.

I'm doing this all while I still have a couple of babies in the nest. They are at home, needing to be cared for. So, I am chasing that fledgling and caring for the other fledgling and running back to my nest to take care of the ones who are still too young to leave it.

I am a stressed out mama.

Not unlike Mrs. Robin outside my window.

But just like Mrs. Robin, I need to let "nature take it's course". That is easier said than done. But if God can protect the birds of the field, He will surely find a way to protect my children. And I'll just take some Xanax to get me through.