Fall or Fly ~

This morning was beautiful; cool and breezy. The perfect morning to sit out under our live oak and enjoy a cup of heaven. As I was taking my last sip and trying to decided whether to sit and enjoy a few more moments or head inside to sort laundry, I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a baby bird in the grass across the yard. I put Sam in the garage because the last thing I needed to witness on this serene morning was...well, you know. As I got closer the bird started trying to fly away; of course it couldn't and it was pitiful. The next thing I know, it had made it's way to our retaining wall. I had to turn away because a fall like that for a baby bird ~ not good. I chose to water my flowers instead of watching this poor helpless creature take the plunge. Sure enough, when I turned back he was gone...and all the birds in the tree above were having a fit. It took 10 minutes for them to finally calmed down. They were calling to the baby, but there was nothing they could do. Heart wrenching. That poor little creature just needed a few more days, a few more lessons from his mama, a few more big bird feathers and he would have been fine...

I can't help but think about how we're raising our baby birds. Will they be able to fly out of the nest when the time comes or am I going to worry that they just needed a few more lessons before taking off?

I can literally see some lessons being learned right in front of me. R is finally understanding the value of a dollar and earning a few by learning a life skill here and there. K still doesn't care whether she has money to spend. I know that will change as she gets older, so I'm not too worried about that. I do want my children to understand that hard work pays off and you must earn it to spend it.

I like to think we're teaching compassion and a willingness to help others, but I'm not so sure. I know as parents we must model the behaviors we want our children to possess. I listened to a podcast the other day about how random acts of kindness are the key to happiness. I'm not sure about it being "the key" but I do know it's a biggie. Yes, I hold doors open for people, I smile at people when I'm out and about, I might even let someone go in front of me in the parking lot, but the big RAK's I can count on one hand. This is something I really need to work on and work on when the kids are around. They need to know that their willingness to be kind and help others has a ripple effect and may touch people we will never see or know about. Can you imagine what this world would be like if just half of us focused on being more kind to just one random person a day...

These are just a few of the thoughts I had before K woke up. She walked in and found me typing. I told her about the baby bird and she wanted to go out and see it. What we found was not a baby bird, but several feathers scattered around and one hanging out of Sam's mouth. The outcome was just as I suspected and it wasn't good for that little bird. 


My prayer is that when it comes time to test their wings, they soar. We will do our best to teach, guide, direct and point their hearts in the right direction but in the end we will have to let go and watch them fly ~