Manuels River, CBS, Newfoundland

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

Without knowing a whole lot about snails I can only muse about what is taking place here. I like that each person's explanation would depend on their own outlook.. I know what I think is happening, but someone else could deduce something totally different. So, what do you think they are doing?

Are they engaging in a little competition, feverishly racing towards the finish branch as fast as their slimy undersides can move?

Have they just woken up and are now searching for a slippery little morsel to share for breakfast? Or maybe they did just wake up and are edging one another out of the way in order to be the one to find the first bug.... like siblings...

Perhaps they are out for their daily dose of exercise.... It wasn't without its own efforts, however - the one on the left had to coerce and nag and push the one on the right to get off the rock to get moving already…  but now, as with any exercise, they are both glad to have made the effort!

Without visible pathways or avenues, do they ever take the same path as yesterday? Or do they always? Do they argue about which way to go next? Does one snail demand that the other snail ask that ladybug over there for directions?

Are they twittering about their being dangerously exposed to predators? Perhaps it's because they haven't considered the possibility that if a winged creature were to look down in their direction, it would shudder at seeing two large yellow eyes looking up at it and fly on! Or... perhaps they are close together to produce that exact effect... 

Of course what they are really doing is being close together.... moving and breathing….exploring and existing.... forging ahead, encountering whatever obstacles intensify their journey, celebrating milestones like reaching the safety of the forest, making their way through the familiar as well as the unfamiliar, and sticking close to one another over the widest of gaps and the sharpest of shale.. knowing that even the most challenging surfaces can be enjoyed as long as you have someone with whom to experience them.

A Mom and her Children in Pelham, ON

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

I was relaxing at the dinner table with my amiable sister-in-law, grazing on giardiniera as we discussed all of the simple but miraculous feats our respective moms were able to pull off hourly, without disdain, and always with finesse and proficiency. Many of our examples hovered around expertly crafted culinary creations, but regardless of the origin of the illustration, the general conclusion was the same:  "Mothers just do everything better," we mused.

There was only a microscopic pause before I heard her state "But, we're mothers!" 

This was more revelation than statement of fact.. one laden with disbelief and awe and even frustration. Part: "could we actually be in the same league as these awesome women", part: "wow that means we are in the same league as these awesome women!" But no fair...... why can't we perform at the same level with the same consistency encompassing the same range of tasks as they do?

The truth is, we can. And we probably do. It's just hard to imagine ever being able to provide to our families what's required while meeting the same high standards that we are used to receiving from our mothers. Our perception of what makes our moms "mothers" is totally different from the "mother" that we know ourselves, in our generation, to be. I guess it's like anything else: when you're chest-deep in something, it's difficult to stand back and look for it, much less acknowledge it and appreciate it!

It's good that we are in awe of our mothers, and even better that they are aware of our regards. We hope that our children will someday be in awe of us (or perhaps more accurately, we hope that our children will someday ADMIT to being in awe of us!!)

I wonder if other species of moms fuss and stress the way the human versions tend to do. While it's certainly not evident to me, I suppose in their own context, in their own language, they must: "I hope I picked a park without too many humans racing around." "Remember guys, if it's not moving, don't eat it." "Stop pecking at your brother!" "Oh, why can't I get these children to follow me today like they did yesterday?"

Because it sure seems effortless! Have you ever watched a string of goslings swimming behind mama goose? They follow along behind her in an impossibly perfect line. How on earth does she get them to do that?! Is it because their lives aren't laden with gastronomical offerings and technological temptations? Is it because of the simplicity of their choices? Is it their freedom from peer pressure and from comparing themselves to other web-footed moms?

I like to think that they are just doing what they know to do, without hesitation or criticism, without lamenting their choices or second guessing their decisions, without considering every possible terrible outcome that may result. They simply parent... because it is in their nature, and because that's what their moms taught them to do.