Remembering the Good

This photo shows Shasta and her baby boy Marty in 2008. Marty was about 11 weeks old and could eat on his own mostly....yet he still begged for his mommy to feed him, which she did. Here they are in my kitchen while Shasta gave Marty a snack.

Watching the birds nurture their babies is fascinating to me. It's an incredible amount of work for parent birds to sit on the eggs for 20 or more days and then have them hatch one by one every couple of days. Then they need to feed the little guys pretty much every hour around the clock the first week and gradually reduce times between feedings. When I hand feed babies I become quickly sleep deprived and get a little bit crazy feeling from the constant need of the little mouth all day and night. It's most definitely not a profitable venture...just a labor of love.

Many of my friends have been to counselling of some sort, as have I, to overcome the challenges of childhood and adulthood. Why life is so complicated I could not guess. The thing that often comes out in our discussions is the fact that if we didn't get what we needed as infants or children then we get stuck emotionally in that need through adulthood. The only remedy is the love of God and the steps needed to learn to nurture ourselves. It also requires friends that are committed to be "community" around us. Community means that we cry when the other cries, laugh when the other laughs, rejoice in each other's successes and so on.
I am grateful for my little community here in my life. It is a privilege to be that friend to others as well.

I really adored my parents. They did many things very well...though having 12 kids and limited education and difficult upbringings of their own, there was only so much they had to give us kids. I will always be grateful for those priceless good memories my parents gave us. My mom and dad's idea of happiness was a station wagon full of kids. They were honest and hard working. They were invested in volunteering like nobody else. I thank God for the strong values I learned from my mom and dad.

Right now Zoey bird is sitting on my shoulder and making a huge tangle of my hair. It's time to put her down or I will end up bald. So, finally tonight, I am grateful for friends, for good parent memories, and for the hope of tomorrow.

GratefulJoy