I'm a mother too... ..

it just happens to be to 100+  furry, hooved, feathered, two legged & four legged babies.

Today is a day to show love for your mother and oh, how I love my own mother. I have a wonderful mom, she imparted many lessons of love to me, including the love of animals and all things great or small. Fate would have it that even though I always thought I would be a mom, it just wasn't in the cards for me. But, ever since I was old enough to have a pet, I did. I was lucky enough to grow up in South America so besides the usual cat and dog, our menagerie also included at any given time such creatures as spider monkeys, sloths, marmosets, Macaws, parrots, iguanas, snakes and even an anteater.

As I grew older and moved out of our family home, the trend continued. I have never been without at least three or four balls of love at any given time. So, am I a mom? Well, yes, I think so.

I have bottle fed, spoon fed, force fed them. I have cooked for them. I have cleaned for them. I have sat up with them when they were sick and have held them for hours when they were injured. I have kissed them, petted them, rubbed their bellies and necks till my fingers went numb. I have bathed them and doctored them. I have cleaned up their little accidents and their spills.  I have assisted with their births and their babies births.

I have laughed at their antics and cried at their mistakes. I have worried sick over them when they were not where they were supposed to be. I have rushed home from work to care for them and make sure they were safe. I have canceled plans or trips when I felt they should not be left for one reason or another. I have worried sick about them when I left them in the care of others, for fear something would happen or they would not be cared for as I care for them.

 I have been with them from the beginning of their lives and I have felt the deepest sorrow imaginable when their time here on earth came to an end. My heart has loved and my heart has been broken.

What have I received in return?

I am greeted every morning with smiling faces and wagging tails. I am serenaded with squawks, barks, meows, chirps, braying , neying, mooing and purring. I am followed to every room in the house and every corner of the pasture. I can't even be by myself in the bathroom most times, because one of my little balls of fur wants to be with me. I am licked, cuddled and nuzzled to death.

Who else jumps up and down, howls in delight or runs along the fence line when they see me?

Is it any wonder that I have found real happiness on a farm surrounded by animals, where any given minute I can find unconditional love right beside me? No, I think that the farm life really does require a mother instinct regardless whether you have had a flesh and blood child or not.

So on this holiday, remember the women who take care of all creatures, great or small...

Happy Mothers Day!