parenthood shows up in many ways

This morning I left later than planned for my volunteer shift at Wild Bird Rehabilitation and had perfect timing to pass the bus stop in my neighborhood. Parents were sending off their kids for the first day of school. The joy, relief, and excitement of a fresh year were palpable.

As I turned the corner, I felt it in my throat before it hit me in the gut: I’ll never get to do that. The grief that sneaks in every first week of school. Tears sprang to my eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat and honored it.

And then I remembered, last week, I sent off the faculty and staff of three school districts. That was my back-to-school day. And today, I was heading to one of my favorite places to feed and rehabilitate native songbirds.

Because parenthood shows up in many ways. Not all of us get to do it with children on this side of eternity. Some of us fight for, create, and choose other ways of leaving the world better, through how we love, teach, and tend to what has been entrusted to us.