Like the maples with their sap, the water lilies send nutrients up and down through a long vertical system, creating a network of give and take that Kimmerer here compares to the inhalation and exhalation of breath. This is its own kind of reciprocity, and it comforts Robin to think of her relationship with her daughters as being like the breathing in and out between the “mother” and “daughter” leaves of the water lily. Once again, she expands the idea of motherhood to include the earth itself—meaning that Robin is also a child receiving gifts from a generous parent—and she gives thanks to Mother Earth in response.