Mama Duck...I Learned a Thing or Two Watching Her

Last Thursday was a beautiful spring day and I was able to accompany a group of 1st graders to Liberty Lake County Park. Towards the end of the visit I was down on the beach with some of the first graders. Under this large weeping willow tree, along the shoreline, was this mama duck and her babies. Of course the kids noticed them; some were happy just to watch the mama and her babies and others wanted to chase after them. Fortunately, the other adults and I were able to convince the chasers to join the other on-lookers to just watch the little duck family.

First graders have a short attention span so the chaos that they were bringing to this mama duck and her babies was short-lived. But as I watched the mama during the chaos I noticed how calm she remained. She stood guard and watched the situation closely but she didn't freak out. There was no wing-flapping or "yelling". There wasn't even any scurrying to gather her ducklings and move them on. Instead that mama duck kept an eye on things, quacked quiet little instructions to her brood and then let them continue on in their learning of how to forage for food. It really was a sweet scene.

Later that day as I interacted with a human mother, my thoughts returned again to the mama duck and the scene I had witnessed earlier in the day. Unlike the mama duck, this human mama has a tendency to squack, flap her wings and at times, suffocate her children so much so that they are afraid to venture out of her protective shadow. And I wondered who was providing a more nurturing environment?

Yesterday I had another opportunity to think about the mama duck. I thought about how she gave her ducklings the chance to learn and grow, to explore, to have experiences. She didn't rush right over and intervene when some of the kids got too close. She let the ducklings figure out how to deal with that potential threat. But she also didn't leave them completely alone. As I said before, the whole time the children were in the vicinity of the ducklings, she was quacking quiet little signals. She was raising ducklings to become wise, independent ducks.

I tried to remember the attitude of the mama duck as Carson set off on a 12 mile hike by himself. I wasn't completely comfortable with the idea, mostly because I wasn't sure that I had provided him with enough hiking skills to be prepared. But as my brother, Nathan, reminded me on a Facebook post "[Carson] will be fine. He's got enough sense to know if he starts to get into trouble." Nathan then said " So, go enjoy your day and trust that he will be enjoying his."

And go enjoy my day is just what I did. Because I knew that I (and David) had been successful in raising a wise, independent boy and as long as he kept his ear tuned to the soft, quiet promptings of the Spirit he would be just fine.