Geese are Mothers Too....

Mothers Day morning, prior to visiting with my mother and mother-in-law, I was out for a run on a beautiful day - sun shining, birds singing, only noise was my feet pounding the pavement. Easy to get in a zone on a run like this. I was less than a mile from home when I heard the hissing...

To digress a bit, if you've ever been chased by a goose, you know that is actually quite a scary experience. Courtesy of growing up across the street from a pond with regular goose habitants, I have had the joy of being chased by a goose. When a large bird starts coming at you and hissing, you turn and run, because who knows what the bird will do. Then you remember this experience forever and aim to avoid it.

At any rate, on this beautiful morning, my run got interrupted by this goose hissing. When I looked up, about 20 yards away was two adult geese with three baby geese. After running immediately into the center of the road and safely past before returning to the sidewalk, avoiding the chasing and re-surpressing the childhood chasing memories, I started thinking about the hissing goose. Here she was, on Mothers Day, doing what she had to do to protect her babies - nature's rawest form of what it means to be a Mother.

The encounter got me thinking about my own mom and moms in general. The day a woman has a child, their whole outlook on life changes. Nothing else really matters besides the safety, health, and happiness of their children, and daily they will task themselves with preserving these basic things that their children will likely take for granted. My encounter with this mama goose reminded me of how much my mom has done for me - a constant source of love and care, a cheerleader, a listening ear, and a friend. Happy Mothers Day, Mom. I love you!

And, to the mama goose, Happy Mothers Day. Sorry I scared you and your babies. :)