And We Never Even Noticed

It's universal, really. A mother's love & protection. Dads do it too, I know, but there's something unique about the way a mother protects her young. They're ever thinking, always scanning the horizon, and always aware of exactly where they can spot the kids, even when they're not directly at her side. Constantly looking at every scenario & plotting out the worst possible ending, then deciding with quick wit how to prevent it from happening. I'm not talking about overbearing, wringing of the hands, keeping their kids Ralph Lauren spotless at all costs, though I know they exist too-but those real, down to earth moms. Let the kids get dirty, but evaluate the situation to see if the worst possible outcome is bad enough to prevent the kids from slinging the mud.

Today I was driving through the small alley up towards my house. It only allows access to one car at a time, and anyone walking along is forced to scoot over to a very small dirt path while the vehicle passes. As I was driving, there was a woman and her small child, and as I approached, I noticed her switching spots with her son. She was now the one closest to my car, and without a second thought, she had moved him away from my vehicle.

My speed was slow, I was in control of my car, and I slowed down even more as I approached. Yet, like a mother only would do, she moved herself into a possibly hazardous situation to protect her son.

How many times in our lives did our mother do this for us? Not just cars in slow alleyways, but in every day little things. How many scenarios ran through their heads? How many millions of ways did they see an arm breaking or a broken back, or worse yet, the unimaginable? How many times did we get frustrated, stomping or pouting-just knowing that our mothers were being meanies? How many times did it pass through us like a breeze, not realizing that in those small gestures, our mothers were risking their own lives for us.

Not that I feel every situation is life or death-but really-do we expect the unexpected?

It's not until we, ourselves, become mothers, that we realize just how many times our own lives were scanned, evaluated, and remedied in case of the unimaginable.