Nobody prepared me for the season of life we have been easing into for a few years and have officially just crossed into - the “Empty Nest”.
I never cared for that term, although it is descriptive. With birds, it’s that biological event of young birds leaving the nest to live on their own.
The reason I don’t care for the term is that as human beings, there is much more involved than physical growth and the leaving our “nest”. We don’t view it as a mother bird does. We are much more complex. We have spent a lifetime with our children, and as they leave, we can’t help but have a mixture of feelings.
It is perhaps when the last one flies off that the impact of our children leaving hits us the hardest.
Now don’t get me wrong… it’s healthy to leave the nest… let’s get that out of the way. The health of it isn’t up for debate, and it’s also not what’s on my mind at the moment. Also, we will always parent to a degree. We will always be available to our kids. That’s not on my mind either.
The journey… THAT’s what’s on my mind. I have been encouraged throughout my life, regarding all aspects of life, to “enjoy the journey”, and advised that “it’s the journey that’s important.” I’ve taken that encouragement and tried to apply it to different situations. Sometimes it’s been a struggle. For instance, I didn’t view college so much as journey to enjoy. It was something to hurry and get done.
With raising kids, I didn’t have to even try. I think Tina and I both instinctively enjoyed our journey of parenting. It was never a task we were in any hurry to get through. Incidentally, that’s a good thing because with four children, we have been at it for about 30 years.
I wish there were other areas of my life where I instinctively enjoyed the journey, where I wasn’t so much focused on getting through, but rather where I was fully immersed in the present.
Maybe, just maybe, this was a 30 year lesson of learning how to enjoy a journey without even trying. For that, I thank our kids. You have indeed been a joy.
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