Time to Parent

One day last week when I was working from home, I stepped out to sit on our back stoop to take in a moment of fresh air. As I was sitting there, I noticed a female cardinal in a nearby tree, chirping very loudly. I heard another bird chirp back in response, but when I looked to see where the other bird was, I couldn’t find it.

 After some investigation, I realized that there was an older baby bird sitting in the opening for our downspout next to the house.

At first I thought it must be stuck, and possibly injured. I thought about the bird mama, who might have trouble rescuing her baby. But when I got closer, it seemed like it was fine – just very nervous to have a human peering into its hiding place at such close range. The mama wasn’t too happy about that either, and their chirping became louder and more urgent.

Now, this may come as some surprise, but I am *not* an ornithologist. I wasn’t sure whether there was a role for me in this situation. On the other hand, I also didn’t want to forgo an opportunity to assist. To resolve my uncertainty, I consulted Google.

From the website, On the Feeder, I learned that this “older baby,” called a fledgling, was likely learning to fly. I quickly concluded there was no way for me to contribute, because I – alas - do not have wings. So, I went back to work.

When I checked on them a few hours later, the baby had moved to a different place in our yard, presumably on its own steam. It was in another sheltered, hidden place near the ground and it occurred to me that it would be important for a baby bird to be in a secure place between practice flights so it could be protected from backyard predators. I also reflected that one of the roles of the parents was to protect their baby during this time of vulnerability, when it was outside the nest but not yet completely independent. The cardinal parents clearly had this down.

The parents were in my backyard for hours monitoring their baby and chirping vociferously. Whatever they had on their bird agendas for that day had to be sidelined for this lesson, which was critical to their baby’s survival and ability to grow. During this important transition in their baby’s life, they attentively instructed, encouraged, and protected.

It struck me that there are some tasks of parenting that are not optional, and that a parent is uniquely qualified to perform. While the specific tasks may vary from family to family, this reality holds true for most families. For the cardinals, this was one of those non-optional duties.

 At First Shift, we help working parents to create space to parent: to have the time to do the things that they, as parents, are best equipped to do. When we are able to assist a working parent to fight workplace discrimination, take time off from work, or lift the burden of being without income because of a lack of reasonable accommodations or access to paid leave benefits, they are free to concentrate on their other, most important, job. We should all celebrate and appreciate how, as a community, we benefit from their commitment to this work.

 I checked again as the sun went down. Both parents and fledgling had left the yard. I expect they were all flying.

By: Laura Brown