What A Mother Duck Taught Me About Life and Fear

I've been known to stop traffic for ducklings in the spring time. :) Their existence simply brings me joy. In fact, we have a bird feeder low to the ground near the front of our house and it attracts the same female and male duck each year (at least I think it's the same :). In late July last summer, which felt late in the season, we began to see this mother duck with her five ducklings. She would often bring them to our home to eat the bird seeds. Aren't they adorable? The mother duck had such a beautiful, sweet spirit about her. Whenever the kids and I went outside we made it our quest to find them. There are two retention ponds at the entrance to our neighborhood, along with a good sized field of grass not far from the ponds, so we often spotted them either swimming or walking around the field. They became very adventurous and we began seeing them waddle all over the neighborhood seemingly to take the scenic route. They would be sitting in the shade of a neighbor's tree. Or walking in backyards. It was endearing to me how trusting the mother duck was when we approached--we kept our distance, of course, as to not scare them. But as the days went by, I could tell they were comfortable and at ease in our presence. I remember one day, the ducklings were following their mom into the street walking towards the retention pond. They weren't using the sidewalk, and I'll be honest, the mama bear in me emerged. I swiftly walked over to them and led them to the grassy field as a safer route to their pond. I started to become super vigilant of them whenever I was outside--making sure they were out of harm's way.

One afternoon, I heard the neighborhood landscaping service mowing the grass. They are contracted to serve the entire community--each family's yard as well as the communal grounds. I had just seen the ducks a few minutes earlier and I immediately put my shoes back on to look for them. My heart was racing--the lawn mowers are wide and move hastily through the grass. I didn't trust that the lawncare providers could see them. I found the mom with her five ducklings just sitting in the shade at the side of my neighbor's house. The loud engines of the mowers could be heard, and I saw at least two of them in the distance. I immediately tried to shoo them on and the mother duck just slowly and casually stood up and started walking in the wrong direction as her babies followed behind. They sat again in another shady spot in someone's yard. I was becoming more and more concerned as the lawn mowers approached. I carefully tried to redirect them to no avail. The mother duck seemed to say to me, "I've got this, Noel. Trust me. I'm not scared. When I sense a real threat, we will move, but until then, we're going to enjoy this beautiful day." I became a little more persistent and the mother duck eventually stood up and began walking towards the pond--ducklings in tow. Finally... heading to safety... But then she veered and crawled into some bushes (probably to hide from me, tbh). I couldn't seem to coax them out. So I did the only thing else I knew to do... I walked up to every person on the lawn care team--whether on a mower or not--and let them know of this sweet mother duck and her five ducklings that had made this neighborhood their home. They were all so gracious and said they would keep an eye out for them. I knew I had to let go of control and allow this mother duck to lead her babies to safety using her own trustworthy instincts.

I'll admit, I was nervous the next day when I went outside to search for them, but lo and behold, I found them waddling in the field. Why had I not trusted that mother duck? I allowed my fears to grip me and drive me to interfere with Mother Nature.

I learned a profound lesson that day. That beautiful mother duck taught me the importance of living in the present moment, enjoying every second in the sun, and not allowing fear to ruin those moments. She did take action and got her ducklings to safety--but she was completely calm and present and timely. She did not live in fear. As I sat with that thought, I was incredibly humbled. There I was thinking I knew better... but this magnificent mother taught me a profound lesson with not one uttered word.

Towards the end of the summer, we did notice that one of those precious ducklings was missing. We will never know what happened. It broke my heart. But I know this... I trust, honor, and adore that mother duck. She showed her children how to truly live--to enjoy their days and the beauty around them--to see and explore their world.

It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes by John Shedd:

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for."