I might be a Robin

You'd have to be pretty inactive on Facebook to not know that I have a bird nest of Robin's on my front porch. From the minute I discovered there was a nest, and a Mama bird, I have been smitten!  Everyday, I climb up the step ladder and onto the porch railing (and NO, I haven't broke it down, yet!) to peek into the nest.  At first, it was just a nest, but Mama Bird would come and go and sit proudly in her nest.  

Finally, one day, there were four little blue eggs in the nest when I looked in.  Ohhh I was so excited!  Mother's Day come and passed and there she sat.  On Mother's Day, I watched her sit in her nest while all the other birds were flying around and wondered if she wished she had the freedom to fly around too, or if she was content, just sitting there, keeping her eggs warm.  

Mama Bird is a pretty calm bird.  On Leah's birthday, the kids (all 6 of them) were out on the porch, digging in the sand, and there she sat, like she could care less what was going on.  Her only goal - to keep those eggs warm and safe!

I began to wonder if the eggs were ever going to hatch, and then, I saw her standing on the edge of the nest, dropping a worm down and I knew!  It was also amazing because all of a sudden - Daddy Bird appeared!  He had been MIA the whole time she sat on the nest, but once the babies were here, he was here too.  Around the clock, he and Mama feed the babies.  Leah was quite disturbed by his sudden appearance and said that it wasn't really fair that he didn't do any of the "work" before they were born!  I love her!

I climbed back onto the porch railing to peek into the nest at the babies...there they were so tiny, so fragile, and so helpless!

And still, Mama took great care of them...feeding them, sitting on them, keeping them safe and warm.  Now that the birds are about a week old, Mama is having a harder time with them.  Today, I saw her in her nest, trying to move them.  It was quite comical! By the time she got on them, she was almost touching the top of the porch. She doesn't seem to notice that they are bigger, she's just there to do her job!

Although her nest is getting crowded, and her babies are "growing up," she still seems 100% devoted to them!  It amazes me and how much I can relate to Mama Bird.  Giving up my freedom of  "flying" to devote myself to my kids.  Always wanting to keep them warm and safe.  Hovering over them to make sure they are where they need to be and OK.  Watching them grow up and feeling like I am not needed "in the nest" as much as I once was.  And, in the end, knowing that the babies are going to grow up and be ready to "fly" on their own someday.  I just hope I can handle it as gracefully as Mama Robin Bird seems to be!