It’s not everyday you see a baby squirrel literally fall out of the sky onto a deck right in front of you. And then a second. And apparently a third hit the roof, as evidenced by the little twitchy tail hanging over the gutter, before it had a chance to join it’s siblings,stunned and splayed out, on the deck some 50ft below the comfort of their nest. Luckily I happened to be with a squirrel whisperer of sorts. She talked in a soothing, baby squirrely kind of way while gently stroking their back and was able to pick up the babies and put them in a box near a tree in hopes of the momma squirrel’s return and rescue. I on the other hand was standing back thinking, “Oh my gosh aren’t you going to put on a haz mat suit before you touch that thing” and “oh well circle of life. Sucks to be you today baby squirrel” (I may or may not have become a bit hardened after the events of the last 10-15 years)
Was the raining squirrel incident the result of some squirrel version of Japanese Tiger Mom parenting… some extreme version of pushing them out of the nest? Was it three squirrel siblings squirreling around and not heeding their mother’s warnings to knock it off before some one falls out of the nest and breaks their neck? Had mom squirrel just cleaned the nest with every last bit of energy she had left only to come home from a long 14 hr. day of hunting and gathering to feed said baby squirrels only to find they had trashed the nest and she lost it sending them scurrying up and over the edge. (Not that I am drawing from real life or anything) Had they been whining that they were bored and mom in an exasperated state yelled, “Out, just get out. I don’t care what you do but you’re just not going to do it in here!” (I can’t take credit for that last one.Thanks for the input, Chookie)
I wish I knew what preceded the raining squirrel incident, but what followed was pretty amazing to watch.
Mom squirrel took every precaution to make sure it was safe to retrieve her babies out of the box. When she was convinced that the large golden retriever, the squirrel whisperer and the “Not the poster child for PETA” girl were back inside and it was safe, she attempted to grab the first squirrel who fought like hell to avoid going with mom. (we assumed at this point they weren’t actually babies, but teenagers) Not to be outsmarted, she found a nut, offered it, and successfully grasped the little and carried it away. Apparently mom squirrels are not above bribery either. She approached for round two. This squirrel was obviously the middle child as bribery with a nut didn’t work, reasoning didn’t work,and yelling didn’t work. Mom squirrel eventually just sunk her teeth into his hind quarters and dragged it back to the nest.
Moms! Moms of all kinds! Our kids can exhaust us, challenge us, worry us, and exasperate us. But the second they are hurt, sick, or in danger, nothing is going to stop us from reaching in, grabbing them with everything we have and dragging them, if that’s what it takes, back to safety. 
I think of a family whose son is facing cancer treatment. That momma has and will continue to do whatever it takes to be sure he is ok.
I think of this poor family whose daughter is missing from UVA. You know there is not one ounce of energy that isn’t going towards getting her back to their nest
I think of all the parents trying to right the wrongs done to their littles.
And I think of what I have endured, like many of you, to be sure my boys are going to be ok.
So,what was your last Momma Bear moment? And to those moms in the midst of fighting like hell to get your kids to the safety of your nest, keep fighting. Keep doing what it takes. If the last thing failed, try something new to make it right. I guess I really don’t need to encourage you to do that. We are Moms! Its just what we do! But from now on, maybe I will refer to it as my Momma Squirrel moment.
Ok, but back to what really happened to cause those squirrels to fall out of the sky…
PS: No squirrels were hurt in the writing of this blog
I am confident that if the squirrels had been injured the squirrel whisperer would have administered the proper first aid.
About splitpease
I am a mom of three teenage boys who used to be a teacher, who became a personal trainer, who had to sell my share of a personal training studio, who had to take a job running a swim and racquet club, who hopes to one day be able to do what I love and still keep a roof over my head.
Lessons Learned 
It’s Raining Squirrels and Other Parenting Styles
Was the raining squirrel incident the result of some squirrel version of Japanese Tiger Mom parenting… some extreme version of pushing them out of the nest? Was it three squirrel siblings squirreling around and not heeding their mother’s warnings to knock it off before some one falls out of the nest and breaks their neck? Had mom squirrel just cleaned the nest with every last bit of energy she had left only to come home from a long 14 hr. day of hunting and gathering to feed said baby squirrels only to find they had trashed the nest and she lost it sending them scurrying up and over the edge. (Not that I am drawing from real life or anything) Had they been whining that they were bored and mom in an exasperated state yelled, “Out, just get out. I don’t care what you do but you’re just not going to do it in here!” (I can’t take credit for that last one.Thanks for the input, Chookie)
I wish I knew what preceded the raining squirrel incident, but what followed was pretty amazing to watch.
Mom squirrel took every precaution to make sure it was safe to retrieve her babies out of the box. When she was convinced that the large golden retriever, the squirrel whisperer and the “Not the poster child for PETA” girl were back inside and it was safe, she attempted to grab the first squirrel who fought like hell to avoid going with mom. (we assumed at this point they weren’t actually babies, but teenagers) Not to be outsmarted, she found a nut, offered it, and successfully grasped the little and carried it away. Apparently mom squirrels are not above bribery either. She approached for round two. This squirrel was obviously the middle child as bribery with a nut didn’t work, reasoning didn’t work,and yelling didn’t work. Mom squirrel eventually just sunk her teeth into his hind quarters and dragged it back to the nest.
Moms! Moms of all kinds! Our kids can exhaust us, challenge us, worry us, and exasperate us. But the second they are hurt, sick, or in danger, nothing is going to stop us from reaching in, grabbing them with everything we have and dragging them, if that’s what it takes, back to safety.
I think of a family whose son is facing cancer treatment. That momma has and will continue to do whatever it takes to be sure he is ok.
I think of this poor family whose daughter is missing from UVA. You know there is not one ounce of energy that isn’t going towards getting her back to their nest
I think of all the parents trying to right the wrongs done to their littles.
And I think of what I have endured, like many of you, to be sure my boys are going to be ok.
So,what was your last Momma Bear moment? And to those moms in the midst of fighting like hell to get your kids to the safety of your nest, keep fighting. Keep doing what it takes. If the last thing failed, try something new to make it right. I guess I really don’t need to encourage you to do that. We are Moms! Its just what we do! But from now on, maybe I will refer to it as my Momma Squirrel moment.
Ok, but back to what really happened to cause those squirrels to fall out of the sky…
PS: No squirrels were hurt in the writing of this blog
I am confident that if the squirrels had been injured the squirrel whisperer would have administered the proper first aid.
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About splitpease
I am a mom of three teenage boys who used to be a teacher, who became a personal trainer, who had to sell my share of a personal training studio, who had to take a job running a swim and racquet club, who hopes to one day be able to do what I love and still keep a roof over my head.