Stay-At-Home Dads And Summer Bird Watching

What do stay-at-home dads and mourning doves have in common?

Lots.

First, let me set the stage.  My husband, Doug, had the responsibility burden privilege of staying home with our 3 kids this summer.  Let’s just say that they drove him a little bit crazy, and unlike me he was more than happy to see them back to school this week.

Needless to say, some days he felt like he was chasing his tail around – between swimming, play dates, and carpool – and at the end of the day he would ask himself what he had really accomplished.  It’s easy for any stay-at-home parent to think, Why am I at home with these kids all day when I could be out there doing something more productive?

Of course, I always tell Doug that I appreciate his sacrifice, but sometimes he doesn’t seem to hear me.  This is where the mourning doves come in.

This summer, a mother dove built a nest above our patio.  Given that our semi-urban yard is the size of our garage, we’re not talking about a large space to begin with.  But doves don’t care about size.  She found a perfect spot for nesting her eggs.

We all stood by and watched.

It seemed as if this mother never left the nest.  Morning, noon, and night she could be seen sitting on her eggs.  Then, one day, I discovered her secret.

I was sitting on the patio when another mourning dove flew in and landed next to the nest.  Neither dove moved for 5 minutes.  Then, I watched the amazing “switch.”  As one dove flew from the nest, the other simultaneously replaced her.  Did she have a clone?  A twin?  A sister?

Not exactly.  It was Daddy Dove. 

After doing some trusty online research, I learned that the father dove and mother dove take turns incubating the eggs.  In fact, it’s not unusual for the father to guard the nest during the day so the mother can go out and get food.  (And, yes, when she gets home at night she takes over full responsibility for the nest!)

This sounded quite familiar.  So I said to Doug, “See, honey, we’re in touch with nature.” 

I love it when God provides unexpected lessons from nature.  I think He decided to send us the mourning doves to show us we really can’t put our lives in a box.  To our surprise, Daddy Dove was handling daytime duty just fine!

Did you learn any unexpected lessons from nature this summer?