All of a flutter.

Categories Thoughts, , , , , , 37 Comments on All of a flutter.

Things are a little tense in my corner of the world at the moment as we wait in anticipation for the safe arrival of the new little member of our family.  He or she will soon be here and for a while im sure life will go a little crazy.

So far as a Grandma or (nonna) to be goes I still feel pretty much the same.  My skirt length hasn’t changed, in fact I have spent most of the summer in a pair of cut down jeans shorts with frayed edges, feeling very  ‘ungrandmotherly’  if indeed there is such a word.  I think I have been cutting an old pair of Jeans down to shorts since I was about 13 but it still seems to be an acceptable fashion item,  and I count myself lucky that at 55 I can still get away with it.

This post however isn’t about being a Grandma or giving birth but about parenting, and how yesterday I got a ‘birds eye’ view (pardon the pun) of how it works in the world of our feathered friends.

One minute we were sat having coffee, the next it was raining sparrows and we were suddenly surrounded by fledglings, unable to fly or feed themselves.  I’m not quite sure how they made their way to the ground without breaking something, but somehow they did.

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Two were fairly healthy looking but this little guy looked like he’d been given his marching orders a little too early, and although Dad spent the day feeding all three in different parts of the garden, I didn’t think this little bundle of fluff had much chance of survival.

Baby sparrows leave the nest unable to feed themselves and the male will continue to provide for them for up to two weeks while his wife gets on with laying her next batch of eggs.  Gosh she must be one exhausted female!

I really didn’t expect them to survive the night and I’m pretty sure only 2 have .  It’s a tough world out there and I guess it really is ‘survival of the fittest’, but I was pleased to see this little chap popping his head up from his bed this morning and we had a little chat of relief while I took his photo.

Parenting is a tough job.  It takes commitment, courage, hard work and a whole heart full of unconditional love.  We are thrown into it with no real training, but somehow we survive and amazingly so do our children.  I take my hat off to this proud Dad who has probably been up all night worrying about his young as they spent their first night without him.  Dont we all know what that is like?  He is now completing his final step of the journey as their dad, and bravely letting them go.

Very soon I will be watching two new young parents take the first steps on that same journey.  If I was to give them some advice I think I would say this…Trust yourselves, trust your heart and love and support each other… the rest I think will come naturally just as it does for Mr and Mrs Sparrow.

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And at the end of the day if all else fails there is always a Nonna in denim the other side of town.

 

 

 

Love Alison x

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Published by throughrosetintedglasses54

Writer, photographer, countryside lover. chicken keeper dog lover, dreamer.

37 thoughts on “All of a flutter.”

      1. Terrific. We have three and they are good people. We did some things well and others not so well, but they seemed to garner more good lessons than bad examples.

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        1. Mine nest every year under the eaves just by my bedroom window. They cheep from early morning to evening and make a good alarm clock. Its gone a bit quiet now though. The dad was still looking after them yesterday but I havent seen any yet today.

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  3. Nice tie-in with the sparrow family and yours, Alison. It’s an exciting time anticipating the next generation. We marvelled that they let us go home with our newborn without a license, lol! Something as important as that really ought to have training and certification! 😉

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  4. I am totally with you with cut-off jeans: they are my gardenwear of choice, and all generations of the family wear them! Amazing pics of this little family! Lovely story, and exciting times for you!!

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    1. I was laughing at myself this year when sitting on my bed with a pair of scissors in one hand and jeans in the other. I was remembering the friend who first started me on doing it, she set me up for a good many years. Glad you enjoyed reading it.

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  13. Beautiful photos and I had to smile at your ‘bird’s view’! The tenacity of the father and his little brood is touching and the photos tell the story perfectly. I love your wise words at the end, summing up parenting as a whole! ‘Trust yourselves, trust your heart and love and support each other… the rest I think will come naturally.’ Absolutely!!

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  14. Pingback: Nonna meets ‘Arlo Frank’. | Through rose tinted glasses.

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