The story behind the photo

It was not quite summer but warmer than spring.

We rarely cross the river to go into the city. We mean to do it more. Weekend errands get in the way.

But that Saturday, we couldn’t resist. The sun was warm; the sky was blue. We had to get out and our normal neighborhood walks wouldn’t do.

So we got out and we walked. Sometimes we carried. Little legs, they get tired.

But Mommy’s arms get tired too. So we looked for opportunities to rest. And the duck pond delivered.

At first she was scared. She didn’t want to sit close to the edge. I love that she is cautious. And I wish she would throw caution to the wind. The constant battle in my mama heart.

But a little girl can’t resist baby ducklings. Small and fuzzy. Babies love babies.

A natural nurturer, she wanted to feed them. With no actual nutrition around, she made food of gravel and stones. Tiny hands grasping handfuls of gravel and sprinkling them in the water.

So eager to get the stones as close to the ducklings as possible, she leaned over the edge. Caution in the wind. I held her hand to anchor her but let her stretch as far as she could.

And she fed the ducklings. Little stones and gravel. And each time one hit the water she giggled with delight.

We stayed there for a while. Mommies and babies.

I would have remembered the day anyway. A mama doesn’t forget watching her baby enthralled by watching babies.

But now she’ll remember too.

~~~~~

Following an awesome prompt from Mama Kat to ‘Share the story behind your current Facebook and/or Twitter profile photo.’  And, in this case, my blog header photo too.