Member-only story
Several months ago I was visiting my cousin in Arizona. This man and his grandmother took me in after my mother died and provided me with a safe haven. He taught me how to ride horses and gave me so much peace in my teenage angst/grief — I can’t even begin to tell you.
As we sat in his kitchen recalling stories of those days, his SO who is a therapist finally turned to us and said, “Oh My God! You were raised by wolves!”
She was referring to both of us — because his parents were pretty awful and he only found safety and peace at his grandmother’s farm. My father wasn’t violent but he was negligent. I was happy to be at the farm because I knew I would be fed. And that was a pretty huge thing for me back then — getting fed.
Wolves are My Spirit Animal and as I pondered her statement it dawned on me — no we weren’t raised by wolves. Wolves are very good parents. It was an insult to Wolves everywhere to compare them to the Humans who claimed to be our parents.
In the wild, the entire pack cares for the young of the Alpha pair. The Wolf Mother listens to her instincts when preparing a den and caring for her young. She is fiercely protective of her pups — even with her mate. Keeping her pups safe, nourished, and nurtured is the entire focus of her existence.
