to my mother who taught me to awe at Mountains

to my mother who, taught me to awe at Mountains, and hear the Earth speak

i remember our family journeys out west, where Mountains rose up to meet the endless blue sky off in the distance, and i knew we were nearing the end of the road. anticipation loomed every time we entered that beloved land.

i wondered if anything would look different, as though mountains and glaciers could move at my own human pace… i also wondered if we’d have to go grocery shopping the moment we arrived (which i always disliked. it signified the end of the long epic car ride)… i wondered if i would still love it here, if there would be awesome sunsets, if i would find treasures to take home with me that would tie me to this land i could not get enough of in south central wisconsin.

as we rounded a corner, the same corner we always came by, those glorious Mountains emerged. if they made a sound audible to human ears it would be like deep resonant thunder, or perhaps the low boom right after a drum is struck… they welcomed us, their sounding striking deep in our souls.

like she had done every time we rounded that same corner and were welcomed by those Mountains, my mother would respond to that deep resonance.

ahh... she’d breathe, my Mountains…

to me, it always seemed like she was reuniting with old friends. the Mountains called to the deepest parts of her being and she would respond from there. this seemingly simple response, acknowledgement… this is how she responds to all Mother Earth’s wonders. i have learned this from her. i have learned to listen for the voices the Earth speaks and respond to them like old friends.

today, i celebrate and thank my mother for teaching me these ways and for instilling in me unending awe and wonder of our Mother Earth.

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to mothers and those who mother

to mothers and those who mother
who in their own way embody
You, our Great Mother,
thank you for the courage to open your life for me
thank you for the curiosity you instilled in me
thank you for the patience you modeled for me
thank you for the wisdom that now lives in me
and loving me in a way that fostered
my wild wandering heart