Empty nest

This winter season has been full of big changes. I’m still coming to terms with a period of unemployment that looks to be more extended than I’d expected it to be. It’s pleasant and terrifying at the same time. Ah, well. Live on the edge.

And on Thursday last week, the fledgling spread her wings, tested the air currents, found them good, and flew. She’s making her own nest now.

It’s another new thing to get used to. Of course, having my daughter and her sweet young man move out wasn’t a surprise; the arrangement was never meant to be permanent. And she’s more than ready to be out on her own, facing the world as an adult in her own right. She knows where I am if she needs some hugs, encouragement, or a cache of grasshoppers to hold her over until the next paycheck.

Nor is it the first time she’s been gone. By the time she’d returned from art school in Southern California a few years ago, I’d almost gotten used to, if not easy with, the empty spot her absence had created. But she returned to the nest a near-adult, not quite ready to fly on her own yet. I was glad to have her home.

Still, it’s good to see her soaring now, bright and confident, as ready as she can be to face whatever life brings her. I hope her future is filled with joy, love and the knowledge that she’s cherished, wherever the air currents lead.