Society and her chick

It’s so fun watching Society and her six little chicks.  The little ones stay close to her and she clucks out instructions all day on what to eat, where to go, when to be careful, when to have fun. When some catastrophe occurs, such as me entering the coop to refresh the water, the chicks scatter, peeping their heads off, convinced the world has come to an end. Society calmly gets in the nest and the chicks come running at breakneck speed to get under her where it is safe and warm.

My beautiful Mom has been having a tough time of things lately. She continues to live in my home town of Madison, WI and over the last year has been diagnosed with a variety of conditions whose long, scary names total up to mean she is living in a skilled nursing facility. I am a pretty old chicken these days  – 54 – but sometimes I still feel like those little chicks and I still want to bury myself into my Mom’s arms, where everything is safe and warm and okay.

Me in my beautiful Mom’s arms.

I just hung up after another discussion with Mom’s neurologist a few minutes ago and I know those days are gone. But, like most parents, she’ll always see me as her little girl no matter how old I get or how limited she becomes. And I will always remember all she did and continues to do to keep me warm, and safe, and loved.