The nurturing impulse is strong in Maria and in me. Maria chose not to have children, but the drive to nurture is strong in her, she loves feeding the animals, loving them, talking to them, listening to them. The nurturing impulse is also strong in me, it is something we share. I lost two children have one who lives in New York, and who is now herself a mother. I see how nurturing she is.

Nurture is one of the lessons on the farm. I see how wonderful the sheep become when they get to be mothers, and how nurturing the donkeys are with one another. Every day, we both get to heal through nurture – walking the dogs, letting the barn cats in from the cold, saving leftovers for the chickens, bringing carrots and other treats to the pony, the donkeys.

Giving them all the best possible lives, the best possible care, helping them to leave the world gently and humanely when possible. Every morning, I am touched by the scenes of nurture on the farm, and I am healing. The two children I lost – their names were Benjamin and also Emma – are always me, but I didn’t have to give up on nurture, or leave it behind. There is Maria, and then, there are the animals who touch our hearts and keep them alive.

I think sometimes animals keep us from losing the instinct to nurture, it seems so hard for so many people to nurture other humans. I am not sure why this is, but animals have shown me how to love and nurture people, and I never want that to die within me.