Mother’s Day Post Part 1: Thank You Baby Songbird
When it comes to female celebrations it becomes clear pretty quickly, “It’s MYYYYY Day!” and, “ It is all about Meeeee!” We’ve all heard, “If Mom ‘aint happy, ‘aint nobody happy’.
Pretty embarrassing, really.
Think about it: engagement parties, wedding showers, weddings, baby showers, birthing, anniversaries, sitting Shiva, etc. “It is all about Meee!” Of course, Mother’s Day is no exception. We want gratitude, thanks, acknowledgement and to be lifted onto the pedestal of Motherhood. We want to know YOU know we have done a good job. It is our report card. And it really feels good to us when you give us accolades in one form or another. At least we have ONE day of thanks for all our thankless day-to-day sacrifice and toil, we think.
But what if…
What if we are wrong……?
What if it is really the other way around and that our kids are our real gift and reward, our everyday Mother’s Day gift? What if they offer us a chance to do life over again with awareness this time? What if they are our true healers, spiritual guides, our mimes, jokesters and charm the laughter out of us, oozing our original childlike nature up and out us? What if they are here to help us remember what heaven, connection and love is all about because they are closer to it by birth date? What if we are missing the point about Mother’s Day and it is really about us thanking our kids?
What if we thank our kids for being our living lab rats to test out our belief systems, ideals, and trial and error? What if we thank them for letting us use them as surrogates to risk where we had a lack of courage? “Do as I say, not as I do,” right? They are so young, they don’t know yet they can say , “NO!” to us. They don’t know better that they don’t have to be the mirrors to our soul.
They say that God loans us our children. Just like birds in a nest they will fly away someday when they are able and ready. As Mothers, we see our place as one of responsibility to protect, feed, clothe, educate, heal and make sure they have skills to survive. But what if in the even exchange of the ecosystem of life they give us exactly what we need in that moment in return? There is no sacrifice, just connection and love.
In Chinatown they sell an herbal product called Birds Nest. It is a healing mixture of a type of bird saliva that comes from a specific bird species in China. This bird leaves this saliva as a ring around her nest for her baby bird to feed off of while she goes out to find other nourishment. The Chinese know this is the oldest, finest and purest form of an anti-aging potion. It is very expensive and rare. But it is never created without a baby bird present. Maybe we can learn from this bird species that there is an exchange of life between Mother and baby that creates and ageless immortality. The gratitude, thanks and acknowledgement goes both ways.
I have two daughters. Each one of them has given me many physical and spiritual gifts in my lifetime. I cherish each of them. My daughter, Chelsea is a muse, Athenian Goddess of music, beauty, creativity, charm and light. One day she wrote and sang this song to brighten my dampened spirits from loss and grief. See for yourself if you don’t feel the warmth of her gift. It is just one reason I should say thank you to her on Mother’s Day. Here is her gift to me. I share it with you. Let her charm the child like Happy right out of you. Happy Mother’s Day!
