Tuesday 26 January 2010

Empty Nests

Finding a bird's nest is always exciting for me. I love to see how they are constructed, what materials are used, explore the way a bird weaves it together. We've had the good fortune to find many nests around here, and also in faraway places. I recall one nest that Addie found on a vacation out west. It had horse hair woven into it. That made us hope that our local birds were making use of the donkey hairs that would fly free in the springtime.


Roughly a year ago, as I was walking to the mailbox, I looked down and found a nest literally at my feet. So I brought it home and photographed it. In some way, it felt like a little gift that day. Today, I think about it in a different way...that of empty nests.



Last week, we joined the ranks of the empty nest ourselves. Paul was scheduled to return to the U of MN--Morris, and this time, Addie went with him. She has started her college career by taking advantage of the post secondary education option available in Minnesota. This allows her to finish high school by taking college courses. It's a very exciting time, but definitely one of adjustments, too. In recent weeks, she was busy finishing up her work for her fall semester, while preparing and packing to move away from home. We were contemplating our future of hauling all of the firewood ourselves. Changes for everybody.

Someone else moved on in recent months as well. That would be Moses. After his buddy Jethro moved to Montana last year, Moses became amazingly lonely. We had always observed that Moses could live without Jethro, but Jethro hated to be too far away from Moses. So sending Jethro to live with other donkeys seemed like it might work. But it didn't. I guess they had bonded over the four years that they spent together, and after all, donkeys are herd animals. We were now Moses' whole herd, and none of us were able to spend a lot of time with him. In the end, Greg decided that it would be best for Moses to re-join his old buddy, but in a new place. I'll write the story of his departure and subsequent reunion on another day, but for now, suffice it to say that we really truly are empty-nesters.

The first thing that I always notice is the change in the conversation. When Robert left, when Paul left, each time, there was one less voice in the discussion. So too is it with Addie gone. Even Moses got a word in at least once a day, when he would sing for his supper. One might say that decision making is easier, as consensus for two is easier to reach than five. We were lucky to have many a dinner together, full of lively talk about work, ideas, studies, life. And I have been blessed to spend an incredible amount of time with my kids, given that they each homeschooled for so many years. So I can't complain. We're happy and content with the way things have turned out. But that doesn't mean that we don't miss 'em....and for way more reasons than just the help on the woodpile.

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