Saturday afternoon. We’ve been to market, the grocery store, J Crew, Polo, Bed Bath and Beyond and Target. Later we’re going to Starbucks, then a movie. I’m exhausted. My precious girls have been home since a week before Christmas. We’ve had such a good time. We’ve been to North Carolina for Christmas—Johnathan came along on that trip. We had cookie-baking day. We’ve played up-and-down-the-river, watched movies, moved the living room furniture, made fires in the fireplace, ate and more. We’ve put more miles on the car than I had put on in two months. We argued over where the thermostat should be set—I held it at 68.
For a few minutes this afternoon, the girls are visiting a friend. I’m here with Tiger, enjoying the solitude. I’ve come to realize that after empty-nesting it for only a couple of months, I’ve grown accustomed to the way I have arranged my feathers and twigs. The return of the baby birds, while a welcomed joy and pleasure, has ruffled my feathers, so to speak. I’ve gotten used to eating my mug of soup and bread-rounds sandwich. I like playing Scrabble on my computer, and listening to my music. I enjoy early morning quiet with just a candle and my journal.
This is good, right? I mean, the girls are ready to return to their routines as well—April to her beloved studies, and Jubilee to her own apartment. So I sit here with a smile on my face, waiting for them to return from their visit with friends, treasuring our time shared this month, and looking forward to settling back into my nest.
It’s all good.
It's nice to know that empty nesting can go well :) Sometimes I think I only hear of the loneliness, but I imagined it more along the lines of what you described. Blissful.
ReplyDeleteIt is good. I like my quiet house and I like when my children and grandchildren come to visit rather than live, although our home is open when they need a place to live . . . temporarily. Thanks for describing your feelings so well and sharing them.
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