Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Natural Mothers


This weeks gallery prompt is Mother Nature. Each week there are wonderful photos and heart warming posts related to a theme. So go over to the gallery at Sticky Fingers, have a browse at your leisure and be inspired to join in as well

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Time to get a little tenuous, my first thoughts around the theme of Mother Nature centred on my allotment. So I put on my wellies and took some photos of the weather beaten fences, gnawed sprouts and my rusty wheel barrow, but the light wasn't great and my heart wasn't in it. I don't want to force myself into a theme, that's what review posts are for.

Where my heart does lie is with MiniMck and MrsMck, aka MummyLimited.

MrsMck and her best new-mummy friend (lets call her BNMF) are what I would call nature mothers (tenuous link by swapping the words round). They first met at anti-natal yoga class, then at our NCT group. This was not a friends-at-first-site moment, but a gradual friendship, that developed strong bonds through shared experiences and converging ideas about parenting.

Initially, this was when all the mums in our NCT group met together for coffee at each others houses. It was not long before MrsMck used the phrase to me that BNMF was her leveller.
"She grounds me," she said.

Known for her persistent worries, questioning guilt and anxiety about this new thing called motherhood- BNMF provided a constantly positive relief for MrsMck. BNMF never seemed fazed by anything, never talked in a derogatory way about people and always had a good word to say about someone.

And then there were the unrelenting sleepless nights. MiniMck has never been a great sleeper, he was just under a year and a half before there was any semblance of sleeping through the night- he's nearly two and still doesn't now. However, BNMF's daughter was nothing compared to MiniMck. This was the first shared experience that allowed MrsMck and BNMF to bond. Other sharing followed, co-sleeping and baby-led weaning, baby swimming sessions, Mini Monkeys softplay mornings and singing groups. These were invariably linked to a cake and coffee session for mums after. And it wasn't all about the babies, there was also the occasional Sunday afternoon trip into the city for a few glasses of wine or beer, while us Dads looked after the little people and got to know each other.

To top it all off MiniMck and BNMF Junior became playmates, holding hands, chasing each other and kissing without prompting. It was a wonderful site to see.

Those with a literary eye will note, I have been moved into past tense. Unfortunately, this is because BFF and her husband moved to California, for his job, just after Christmas. Communication these days is obviously so much easier, and MrsMck and BNMF have already had their first Skype webcam chat. I sincerely hope that their bond of friendship stays strong

So here's to nature mothers, true friends and levellers in life. Hopefully BNMF and her husband may one day return, because in life true friends do not come along that often, and when they do they are worth keeping hold of.

This slideshow was taken when we visited Best New Mummy Friend a few days before they left.

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