Spoon Feeding

SPOON FEEDING: (Seventh in the Mother’s Day Series) Raichatou’s mom, known to me as Ana (“mother”  in Touareg) spoon feeds curdled milk — a common food among nomads in Niger– to her youngest son.  He is clearly old enough to feed himself.  But sometimes moms are there to feed you… nurture you… just because it feels good to be taken care of this way.  Just today, my five year old Soriya asked me to feed him “like a baby”. This photo comforts me, knowing that Soriya’s desire be babied past infancy is universal.  And the desire to mommy extends across cultures.  Like Ana, I enjoy spoon feeding Soriya, and I’m confident that he will gain full independence from me soon enough!  On the contrary, let’s baby, or nurture, our little ones as long as they allow us to.