Happy Mother's Day / Simple Things

Happy Mother's  Day!  The day began with the whine, bump, jump, run through the house and come back, whine, bump, jump again by Treasure. The room was filled with daylight so I knew it was going to be as early as 5:30 a.m. and I rolled over to verify my suspicions with the alarm clock. At the same time I was learning that it was actually 6:30 a.m. Pippin took advantage of my subtle movement and quickly filled the vacant space on the other side of me.  She's a total bed hog that one is.  In her very oh so pregnant big and uncomfortable state though I can't blame her for wanting to spread out.  The thing is - the girls had the entire bed to themselves last night with me. 

John is waking up this morning several states away, for the second day of AKC Hunt Tests. He had a great day yesterday there.  He handled Bullet on behalf of Julie to his 2nd set of qualifying scores towards his Junior Hunter title! Bullet is halfway there and will be tested again today in hopes of earning his 3rd leg.  John had decided to see if True and Jack might be ready for the Senior test level by entering them for one day. What a great decision!  True and Jack both earned their first qualifying score towards a Senior Hunter title. The scoring is a little different for Senior and Master. They are judges for additional skill such as retrieving to hand and honoring another dog.  John said they handled like champions yesterday, we are both so proud!  And for all of that, John literally slept in the dog house last night as the dog top camper affords ample room to convert the back of the pickup truck into a temporary sleeping space. (Oh, my aching back.) So John's away. Ann can't sleep in.

Treasure continues to do her best to demonstrate the gravity of this situation of needing to go out NOW...and Pippin's body begins to communicate that to her. Ok. Ok. I can do this, I will somehow get into a semi-prone position, balancing on the side of the bed, using my arms to steady me...oops.. it's not a pretty picture at all and kind of reminds me of the weeble wobbly thing.  One foot in front of the other. I'm on my way girls, honest I am... please don't pee before I get to the door!!!  And voila! Success! 

Mornings. I do not do mornings. I have never done mornings. And I probably never will. With the exception of having to go to school and/or  for working full time also all those years ago I have always slept until at least 7 and sometimes (often?) even later.  So I mumble to myself and say JUST GET OVER IT.  And I did as I quickly discovered it is an absolutely GORGEOUS morning!.

I  fixed the girls' breakfast and made a pot of coffee for me.  Why did I make such a large pot?  I'll never drink it all.  Opening the sliding door I greet those in the crew who remained home this weekend and do a quick headcount.  Good morning Piper! Good morning Rose! Good morning Scooby! I'm sure the neighbors think I'm a bit strange. Okay where is Rose. ROSE! ROSE! And she obliges me by simply poking her head out through the swinging dog door with a glare that reminds me Rose likes to sleep in too.  Sorry Rose. The aroma of fresh brewing coffee fills the house and the the bright rays of the sun coming through the windows brings warmth to a slightly chilly kitchen. 

The monitor indicates Molly is up and about nursing pups.  Time to round up the girls.  TREASURE! PIPPIN! Pip comes right away.  Treasure not so much and not in sight.  Knowing we are fully fenced in calms my soul but still, where is she?  After a few minutes she appears happy and is soaking ringing wet.  An early morning dip in the pond by the looks of things.  Time to crate the girls with their breakfast in hopes of paws wet with morning dew will quickly dry off.  And time to check on our precious babies.


I carefully unlocked and slowly opened the door which protects our Molly and her family.  Usually she hears me coming and will run to happily approach me.  But not today. Today is different. Today is Mother's Day.

The low lighting in the room complimented the beauty of the scene I was privledged to behold.  The luminous glow from the heat lamp hovering above cast a spotlight upon the subjects of this precious sight. Molly raised her head in proud acknowledgement while her puppies continued to calmly nurse. Molly did not stir, although I could see every fiber in her body challenging her to rise and greet me. Very softly I spoke, telling her good girl....stay there Moll, it's okay... good girl.  And Molly stayed right there, nurturing and caring for her puppies who were safe and secure, surrounded by their mother and her love.

Such a simple thing to bring such joy to me this morning. A sight to be imprinted on my mind forever. I have seen this sight many times before but  because this is Mother's Day I am led to believe God found a way to speak to my heart.  He gives us so many gifts throughout our life, gifts created for special moments in time.  They are as gold nuggets created for those with eyes to see and hearts to feel.  I think most of the time we're all too busy and caught up with life in general to easily recognize them. 

I am reminded of my own mother's love for me, demonstrated first through her loving arms around me as an innocent baby.  Her love, like God's love, poured out upon me each and every day of my life although there were days I know I was very unaware of it.  I miss my mum but she rests peacefully next to my father and is in God's care until that day. Missing her is not a sad thing although it may bring tears.  But tears of thankfulness for the richness of our relationship. 

My mom not only chose to pass along the gift of life to me, but she passed along the opportunity to receive the gift of God's love. I chose to give the gift of life to my two children, and offered them the same opportunity to choose the gift of God's love. (And they in turn have made John and I grandparents!)

Mother's Day.  It can be a joyous occassion or it can be a very difficult day.  Some of us end up with great moms. Others not so much, not even close.  Some of us have large families, others do not have any for one reason or another.   But I believe most women, at some point in their life 'mothers.'  Bringing up a child with care, love, and affection is to mother - whether you gave birth to that child or not. The art of mothering is to look after someone, kindly and protectively. Most of us have our own personal association with the word mother.

This morning, God simply showed me a perfect example.  A Brittany dog.  Lying in a whelping box. Nursing a litter of puppies. Somehow God has found a way through the beauty of this scene to remind me to put troubles and cares in perspective, stop overthinking and stressing out, and enjoy this life, this short time we all have on earth. It's the simple things that simply 'are'.  We need to simply 'be'. 

Because in the end, afterall - God can use the simple things to confound the wise. (1 Corinthians 1:27) He can use simple things to confrim in the hearts of those who believe in Him of His love for us. I do love the ways of God most of the time but I sure don't understand them all. I can't answer for myself let alone for others "why" things happen the way they do. But I do know that I love Him and trust Him completely with my entire life. It's really quite simple.  Only believe.

God Bless You and Happy Mother's Day from John, Ann, and All Things Brittany

PS The revealing of simple, special gifts which are not only seen by the eyes, but felt within the heart continued after I finished writing this post...  I have been watching with awe the flight of a beautiful eagle as it soars high above, circling above the garage.