Nature Nurtured

I knew I'd become a mother as soon as I became a mother; it was an instant success! I never thought I'd ever be a mother, and now I was and am and lived to enjoy every bit of it. At least it was completely true from childbirth to pre-teen years.

I remember when she first turned over in her crib with a thunderous and frightening thump! I ran to the bedroom expecting the worst, but she was just babbling away. Mom's heart jumped back in its place.

Then came time to wean her from breastfeeding, and I was an emotional wreck because I feared she'd reject her Soy Formula, pediatrician's suggestion. We fed her Soy Milk for a while but felt she wasn't feeding well. I was also making her food at home; I only used a Gerber bottle to measure the "proper amount," according to... the pediatrician. I quickly realized I'd starve my baby if I followed the pediatrician's erroneous and/or misinformed suggestions. I was only going to lessen to my daughter's needs.

I learned from the time I was lying down for a C-Section and asked if the epidural would affect the baby; one doctor said no, and the other said yes, so I let them poke me once before they cut me open and told them to poke themselves with the rest because I wasn't going to put my baby in jeopardy to spare me some pain. My momma didn't raise no coward, and I remember that pain fondly.

My daughter also thanked them by mooning and almost bursting their eardrums when she rushed out over two weeks before her scheduled "natural delivery." She was making her own choices even then...

She went from thump to crawling... backwards and refused to crawl forwards till she was ready. Haven't you learned anything yet, mommy? Got it, mija, got it.

After crawling backwards then forwards for a couple of months, she started trying to hold on to things around her to peek around then stand up: that baby had the strongest calves ever; her progenitor couldn't be happier because they looked like his.

Happy first birthday! It was tradition in Daddy's Vietnamese culture to place different items in a row in front of the baby, and whatever the baby got first would determine future endeavors. Daddy placed a deck of cards, dice, money, other stuff, and I placed a couple of books. When daddy gave her the sign to go, she went straight for the books! It was the best birthday ever, and she hasn't stopped reading books since, and she's very intelligent and multi-talented.

As soon as she discovered the outdoors, we made it a habit to go for rides in the car, or I'd take her around neighborhood parks and college campus in her stroller. She'd ask me to stop every time she saw a gopher mound and asked to take her shoes off. She'd then wiggle her toes in the loose dirt while mommy almost had a heart attack, and then she'd ask me, "do like me, mommy." Watch out gophers, here comes big foot!

Rolling on the college lawn and chasing after butterflies and catching ladybugs wasn't too bad for Mommy.

Daughter soon began to look out for and protect any and every creature around her. God forbid I should accidentally step-crunch a snail, worm, or rolly-polly.

She loved going to the beach and walk on the wet sand then run to the water. She helped mommy collect beach glass, rocks, and shells, but was more impressed with the sand dollars, especially the purple ones she thought came from octopi.

She loved to scare seagulls into flight before heading for the swings, and Mommy had to push then do as she did.

She'd already discovered the library and was swallowing books weekly instead of monthly like the librarians had suggested/expected. She was also "playing many games" at home but never saw a TV, video game, or cell phone till she got to junior high, yet she was learning to read, meaning she understood and could retell in detail what she'd read, and she was learning math and science as well, but she hadn't "climbed a tree or learned to ride a bike."

We talked about bicycle and road safety then got her a bike, helmet, knee, and elbow pads, and left them in the garage. Mom had learned. One day she told me she wanted to ride her bike. She geared up, and out the door we went. I first held on to the handle bars while she pedaled along for a bit. She then held on to the handlebars while I'd gently hold the seat and let go for seconds at a time. It took a few days before we went to the main street and rode on the sidewalk, and that's about all it took.

One day we went to a park that had big rocks. She sat down on one and was deep in thought. I asked if everything was ok, and she started singing, "I've never climbed a tree." I told her I'd find her a good tree to climb, and not long after that, we went to visit her former nanny and my former students' mom. They had a nice orange tree, and my daughter and former students climbed the tree. I told my daughter she'd never have to say, "I've never climbed a tree" again.

Then came the ponies! My brothers had horses and took their niece to "meet" them.

She almost came home with a horse and would've have had we lived in another country or planet, but she was hooked. This kid loved everything with feathers, fur, none, two, or four-legged creatures. She went horseback riding locally and out of town with her uncle, and sometimes I went and rode as well; yup, I did like her.

On her last trip to Mexico, she got to climb the town's famous mountain all the way to the tippy top like nobody's business, and I was gasping for breath but still collected my favorite flint stones. We could see our beautiful town down below. Daughter took selfies and pictures of strange creatures.

She enjoyed getting the horse or mare ready to ride to the cemetery, back home, across the stream, and around town after a picnic. Even I wasn't that brave.

When the swallows showed up, we thought we'd seen bats fly through the window and into the living room, but then we saw two swallows flying around a hole in the wall. It looked like it'd been left there on purpose. We checked and saw a mud and grass nest and knew it belonged to the swallows.

Before we knew it, we saw about six little eggs, and one of the swallows would always stay in the nest while the other one brought food: swallows can teach humans a thing or ten without swallowing their pride like "human males" do. We left the nest be.

Chirp, chirp, chirp, zoom! Babies were hungry and food gatherer was always nearby.

The parents took turns feeding the family. What a concept, huh?

The chirping became a sweet melody early in the morning and throughout the day.

My chickadee became exited when she heard the "funny noise" and wanted to know where it came from and what made it. I pointed to the hole in the wall, and she guessed what it was. Curiosity wasn't going to kill this cat. She grabbed a chair and a stick and waved it in front of the hole but nothing happened. She then got high...er and started "talking" to the chicks; they responded, so mom started recording. We all have a great laugh each time we watch/listen to the video clip.