Nature AND Nurture

It is a stressful morning for me and not in a normal way. We have a hummingbird feeder and this morning all of us noticed that it was frozen over. We saw a sweet bird come for its morning feed and it couldn't get food. We all are distraught about it and so my husband quickly brought the feeder in to thaw the food and promised the kids that this afternoon he'd fill it up (that has been his job). Well everyone is now scattered to work and school and the poor little bird is sitting on a tree waiting, waiting, waiting... I am so nervous for the tiny thing, I'm thinking that it will turn into a tiny hummingsicle if I don't get the food out to it. So, I am now making some simple syrup for the bird myself and hopefully, I can successfully get it up to provide the bird sustenance. I have been toying with keeping the concoction a little warmer than normal so it won't freeze, but then that could possible kill the bird from the inside out....so, I will let it cool appropriately before sending it out for the bird. I am attached to these little guys for many reasons. Just recently I have a new reason....I think they like ME. I was busy raking leaves on our deck and a little hummingbird decided to get food just as I was under the feeder. It didn't care that I was there and I was able to really get a look at the bird as it fed. It was so cool.

So, this whole scenario has gotten me thinking. Are hummingbirds supposed to migrate somewhere warmer? Did these little guys in our 'hood decide that they had a good thing right here that they couldn't be talked into moving? Are these poor little birds going to expire one by one due to our 'false reality' we made for them? OH THE PRESSURE!

As these burning questions came to mind, I compared their situation to our current housing crisis. Many out there were promised a false reality that eventually has caught up with them and who knows where it will lead. We could have easily been in the same boat. We bought our house 2 years ago and probably bought at the highest the market got. Luckily my husband had the foresight and gumption to not be talked into anything we couldn't ultimately afford...we were approved for WAY MORE than we actually spent. The other fortunate thing is that I don't value the 'latest and greatest and biggest and best' so I wasn't pushing my husband to stretch us. I live the cliche..."a house is not a home, but the family in it is"...I know there is another poetic way to say it, but I am too lazy to search. Now, the housing crisis still could bite us down the road because if we ever need to sell we are likely to take a loss....but I'm not going to think about that because we are staying put and we have a lovely house that I call home because it exactly what we needed at the time we were looking. However, for the amount of money we spent, I WISH it were fancier, nicer, had more bells and whistles, but that is something that I don't care to worry about at the moment. Right now, a warm cozy house with a loving family is my priority. And I have that!