I'm not known by friends or family as "daring" and I hope not "irresponsible"!!! I look with respect and admiration to other mothers and woman my age doing Bungee Jumping, Sky diving or just doing something totally out of the ordinary, daring. I see myself as a level headed, mother, wife, daughter and neighbor. The most daring I get is with cooking and trying new fun recipes. But under the label "being a good mother", "being my daughters hero”, I found that I might do something unusual, daring and totally out of the ordinary.
I overheard a conversation outside the kitchen window as I was cooking pancakes this morning. "The tortoises make such a mess in the garden" my husband said. "Please Daddy we can not let this little one go that Mommy saved, he is my most special one", my daughter answered.
My thoughts went back to the big forest fire we had last summer. The strong wind, aero planes and helicopters spraying water and the fire brigade sirens sounding. The police shouting over megaphones for people to stand back and evacuate the area as the fire was heading our way and we could hear the crackle of the fire and feel the extreme heat coming closer. We were running up and down the stairs of our home gathering some precious belongings like passports, money and getting ourselves set up to head out of the area. How relieved we were when we came back that night and our home was standing, untouched by the fire but so sad to see the big damage for hundreds of meters in the burned down, black, rubble forest.
The next day I took the children and we walked along the tar road next to the houses and the forest to see the damage. We were amazed at all the people that came to see and look at what had happened. I jokingly called it: "Forest fire tourism!"
My eldest daughter spotted a tiny tortoise at the bottom of a three meter drop into the burned down forest area. My heart went out to this tiny creature that survived the fire and I thought how thirsty he must be and there was nothing to eat.
"Mom, please you can not leave him there, he will die!" my daughters hand pulled on my arm and her words tugged on my heart. I was racing through my mind, looking for something sensible to say. There was nothing more to say! By now there was a bit of a crowd gathering pointing and talking about the poor animal suffering.
You guess right! "Mom please save him!" was her next comment. I looked down at my feet dressed with only flip flops and wondered how I would do it, but I knew this was something I had to do. "Let me do it for her, she will always remember this, this is the stuff memories are made of", went through my mind.
Feeling very daring, with bystanders clicking their tongues in disbelieve and talking about how dangerous it was, I slowly but carefully and somewhat nervous scrambled down the loose rocks, stones and burned black sticks. I was quite relieved when I safely reached the tortoise, and then carefully found my way up again. To my surprise the amazed crowed cheered and clapped as I reached the top with my now black hands, feet and flip flops. But to me, there was only one person standing at the top excitingly and very proud waiting for her mom to make her way up the rocks with the little tortoise.
I will never forget the joy in her eyes, the special hug I got and: "Thank you Mommy, we will call him Moses you saved him from the black burned forest!"
Often when I sit outside in the yard drinking my coffee I see Moses wandering around the grass and the thought of how he became part of our family warms my heart. I am not the most exciting, fit, pretty or athletic Mommy but I am my little girls "Brave" Mommy thanks to Moses!
