It is with great joy that I occasionally am able to witness the fleeting moment of a scene such as the one pictured here… a mother deer and her new baby. We live in a place where there is an abundance of these lovely animals who roam through our neighborhood. They have become quite used to having us humans inhabit the same spaces they do. They roam about, free to come and go from their little thickets of living space in the woods. They interact with one another, eating our landscaping, and going about their normal lives, often even giving birth in some of the back yards of our neighborhood. Most of the deer are quite tame. They are protected here, free from the dangers of being hunted, and although they can be a nuisance at times, and we complain of them eating our bushes and flowers, they can be a treat to watch. I love the springtime, in particular, when the new babies are born. I must admit that I am always quite fascinated by the sight of a mother deer and her new baby. This mother deer waited patiently for quite some time at the edge of the woods. I had suspicions that she was waiting for her baby, carefully keeping watch over the area… and sure enough, after some time, baby deer made its way out of the wooded area into the loving presence of its mother. I’m not sure what baby deer was doing in the woods – perhaps taking a nap. And mother deer just waited.. oh, so patiently. You could almost see and feel the joy as baby emerged from the woods and the two reunited. Mother deer lick their babies everywhere, gently caressing them as they clean their little bodies and then nurse them. You can clearly see the look of love on their faces as they do so. And their spotted babies, so sweet and innocent, seem to enjoy their baby baths.. their lovely little faces looking content and pampered as their mothers do the job that nature intended. How fortunate I have been to witness this scene on several occasions.. remaining very quiet and far enough away to keep from startling the sweet pair. For me, to watch this beautiful scene take place is almost like watching a little fairy tale take place before my eyes…

As time goes by and the weeks pass, you can occasionally spot the mothers and their babies as they stroll through the neighborhood, oftentimes teaming up with other mothers and babies. The mothers gradually let their babies roam a bit further from them. Their little entourages of mother deer and their babies remind me a little of the playgroups I took part in many years ago when my own children were toddlers. The mothers leading the way, expecting their babies to follow, and the babies frolicking in play here and there as they all take a journey together to find food and new adventures… The mother deer, however, are always keeping a watchful eye on their young. And of course, as time passes and the babies grow, they gradually learn to watch out for themselves. They learn about the world – what is safe for them to do and what is not. As those baby deer grow and begin losing those baby spots, they can be seen out on their own at times, exploring and making their own way through the world. They have been carefully nurtured by their mothers and slowly, through example, learn the ways of the world. These young deer, lovingly nurtured and protected by their mothers, slowly gain self confidence and are able to find their own way in the world. We, as humans just witnessing some of this growing process, certainly don’t know all of the details and intricacies of the teachings of the mother deer as their babies grow. Their nurture and care and teaching is instinctive. It is a wonderful experience, however, to be able to witness some of the beauty of this life process.

In our human world, it is even more of a wonderful experience to watch the beauty of good mothers as they love and nurture their growing children! I am fortunate to be able to witness the loving care and guidance of two wonderful mothers – my daughters – as they raise their children in today’s world. The challenges and demands of today’s human world are extremely intense and complicated. We bring new babies into this world – nurturing them and giving them all of our love and attention, protecting them from harm, making sure they receive all of the special understanding and learning and stimulation we possibly can. We devote ourselves to each and every little life that we bring into this world – each one with a different personality and needs, each one needing different understanding and unique attention. And each new phase of childhood and growth brings new demands and new understanding that we, as mothers, must somehow assess and address, using the best of our innate sense of understanding and love and the best of our intelligence. And we give all of this freely because we love so intensely. We find the special qualities of each child and try our best to encourage each one to develop these special talents and abilities. We give our time and energy to encouraging and helping our children to develop the skills needed to achieve their goals and gain self confidence, for we know the importance of this in their future. Yet, as our children grow and mature and slowly learn the ways of the world, we somehow slowly must let go a little. We must let them test their wings. This is not always an easy thing to do – but we know that we must, for it is the necessary thing to do, the way of things… Yes, it is a challenging and scary world out there, with a great deal of competition and danger and uncertainty. Yet we must trust in the hope that all of our love and guidance and nurturing and understanding and giving will guide our children through the times ahead, as they venture out into the world, finding their way. And oh yes, we will still always be there for them as they test those wings and grow and move on in the world – always loving, always supporting, always understanding, always encouraging, always there to help when we’re needed… even when our children are full grown adults and perhaps have their own children. We will watch with confidence and pride and we will lend our help and advice when it is needed…

The beauty of Motherhood – of loving and giving of ourselves to the nurture and healthy growth of our children – the future of our world – is indeed, a noble profession and a labor of love. Good mothering is so important in this world. The strong values that are learned at an early age and the self confidence and character that develop in children during their early years are the strengths that they will carry on into their adult years… the strengths that are needed to build a better tomorrow for everyone. And it is these strengths that good mothers pass on to their children from the time they are very little until the time they are ready to leave the nest and fly on their own (and beyond). I am so proud and happy to see my own children using all of their love and devotion, their intelligence and unique skills to nurture and guide their children in this world of ours. I would never want to underestimate the importance of good fathering in a child’s life. Good fathers, of course, are equally as important in the healthy growth and development of children. I will, however, address fatherhood in another writing. I am speaking more specifically of mothers in this particular writing… I am so happy and proud and thankful that I have been able to be a mother. My experiences as a mother are the best experiences of my life. I am, indeed, very fortunate to have been able to be a mother for all of these years. Motherhood never ends as long as we’re alive… And, if we’re lucky, we are also able to become Grandmothers!

~ Carole Carter – text and photograph