Use the Garage, People

Moms Looking Out for Moms in a World That Doesn’t

My mother has not used her front door (or let anyone else) in over a month, when one of the grandkids discovered a nest and, subsequently, a mama dove.

There were eggs, but no one has gotten close enough to tell how many or whether they’ve hatched yet.

Google tells me she’s a mourning dove, and experience tells me that if you forget she’s there, she’ll fly straight at your head to knock you off course.

And despite all of the white smears on our cars and my parents’ driveway, despite the messy litter of twigs and grass collecting on their entryway — even despite the fact that this mama bird has the capacity to produce a brood six times a year, my mother says: Use the garage, people.

Moms looking out for moms in a world that doesn’t.