Mother Bird
My dear friend and wickedly talented writer, Sarah Hollister @sarahhollister_writer, introduced me to an inspiring writer, Elizabeth Garber, @elizabethgarberwriter, who wrote a piece for https://brevity.wordpress.com/. One thing she wrote got me thinking, “If you post an image and don’t write a little story, it’s a missed opportunity to nourish your reader and yourself.” I said, hmmm. I post images all the time; this is good advice. So here’s my first piece using that advice to add to My Last Months in Africa series.
#1
A few seconds before I snapped this photo of a nesting Spotted Thick-Knee, this fierce mama had her wings spread so wide she looked as if she could take on any predator in the bush. The sight was incredible. She was in super protection pose because a dazzle of zebras was grazing too close to her nest of unhatched babies. Her commanding stance demanded that the zeal walk around. Or else! The black and whites beasts took note and adjusted their roaming without a twitch of their spiked manes.
I had never seen that behavior in the bush.
But it makes sense, doesn’t it? To protect their children, most moms would step in front of danger, even if the threat is bigger, heavier, and scarier.
This scene reminds of my adult son and the troubles he faces. His dazzle is mandates and rules, threats, and no tolerance. Dictates surround him and threaten who he is and what he believes with sincere, if not misguided, passion. And here I am, thousands of miles away, wishing I could fly to him, spread my wings to ward off the danger, then wrap them around him to protect every atom in his body.
#sarahhollister_writer
#elizabethgarberwriter
#brevity.wordpress.com/
#mothersandsons
#animalsinbush
#southafrican
#writingyourstory
#imagesandstories
#writing
#writingmemoirs
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