I remember...witnessing a miracle of nature

Now, that title might seem a bit extreme as you read on. But as I was experiencing it, it truly was a miracle. That 2 minutes in time that I just happened to be outside and watched it all happen--that was a miracle.

It all started when we were doing some much needed yard work. There is a bush on the side of our house that needed to be trimmed extensively. So my husband got his electric hedge trimmer out and started trimming down, taking off about 2 feet from the top and 1/2 a foot from each side.

When he got done, he called me to come over and take a look at what he had found. I peered into the branches and saw a small birds nest with the tiniest little sweet birds I have ever seen. Just so small. They couldn't open their eyes yet but if the nest got jostled just the littlest bit, those little sweeties would stretch their neck as high as could be and open their beaks expecting that movement surely meant mom was home with some yummy treats.

Oh, those birds held such a soft spot in my heart for the next few days. We discovered that they were Cardinals as there were two protective cardinals taking turns at the nest.

Every morning, I would sneak out the house and peak on them. Then at night when the kids went to bed, I'd go say my goodnights. Every time I saw them, they were different. First their eyes open, then their feathers, then the chirping. Only a few short days and they already seemed so big.

The next day was a frazzled one for me. The two boys were rambunctious, the house was a mess that I just could not keep up on, and I was studying for a pretty intense final. By the time the kids were in bed, I thought I should keep studying, but I knew I needed a little break. My first thought was to lay down on the couch and watch some meaningless TV show that required no mental thought from my end.

But then the thought occurred to me that I hadn't been outside once today. Not even to get the mail. It's hard to believe a person could do that, but it does in fact happen. So I picked my body up off the comfortable and tempting couch and I walked outside.

Aaaahhhhh. Instantly, I was glad to be outside and smell "real" air. I walked over to see my little birdies and say hello. When I looked in the nest, they were gone. My heart sank so low. My first morbid thought was that they had fallen out of the tree. They were soooo tiny and just barely got their feathers like 2 seconds ago.

So for five minutes I looked everywhere around that tree and to my relief, found no injured baby birds.

Nevertheless, my babies were gone. They had given me such happiness every day for the last 4 days. How could I ever live without them? They were special.

So in my melancholy state I walked towards the back of our house and sat in a rocking chair under our big (and I mean big) Oak tree. After about 30 seconds of sitting there feeling sorry for myself, I heard a bunch of chirping noise. It sounded like their was a bird war going on right above my head.

When I looked up to see the commotion, I couldn't really believe what I was seeing. There were two adult red cardinals chirping (barking really) at this squirrel. I didn't intervene at all. I really wanted to watch as nature took its course. The squirrel was frozen. The cardinals just kept up their crazy assault until the squirrel ran away and even then, one of the birds flew after him.

I knew there was only one reason for those birds to be acting like that. They had their babies close. Sure enough, I looked down towards the base of the tree and one puny bird with barely any feathers on him was clinging to that tree. He gave a little "yip" and I watched as the first Cardinal flew right to him. A few seconds later, the second adult cardinal came.

One Cardinal started chirping at the baby and it was like watching a mother tell her child all he needed to know. After she "talked" to him, she flew about 3 feet away and then right back and got in his face and chirped a bit more. Then she flew that same 3 feet and waited. The tiny bird did just what his mom wanted him to and he worked those fuzzy miniature wings so hard and he traveled that 3 feet. The whole time the second cardinal was watching from a distance.

The little bird got excited and kept flying in short bursts across the neighbors lawn and then flew up into a tree. The parent birds flew in right behind him. I was so proud at that moment.

Now, many may read this story and think, "so what, you saw a bird learn to fly". But it was so much more than that to me. It really touched home on such a personal level. And I cannot even pinpoint what has influenced me the most about this. But here are some of my thoughts.

1. If I would have laid on my couch to watch reruns of ghost whisperer, I would have missed the whole thing entirely.

2. If I would have walked outside and just sat without paying any attention to my surroundings, I would have missed that opportunity to see what I did.

3. There was something about the whole experience that just touches me so deeply. I think it's the whole natural process of things. The way those cardinals built a perfect little nest and then laid the perfect little eggs. How they watched over them until they were born. How one would look for food while the other protected the nest. How when they KNEW they were ready, they took them out and taught them, showed them, and finally, let them go on their own. But even then, after the little guys wings were working pretty good, they all left as a family into a new tree. The whole experience spoke directly to my heart, especially as a mother. I think that's the goal as a mother. Teach the children what to do, show them how to do it, and trust that they will, having faith that those birdies will fly---even if it takes a few tries.