We
have three bird’s nests under our back deck nestled in the beams and rafters.
Kim was the first to notice them. At first and from our angle, we saw a head or
two peek over the top of the nest, only to hunker down out of sight. A couple
of weeks ago, we saw tiny heads, beaks open, expecting their food as one of the
parents sat on the edge of the nest. It flew away as it spied us spying on
them. In the last day or two, Kim noticed the little ones, not so little anymore, were learning to fly.
She
almost stepped on one of the babies in the grass. The momma and papa darted
from fence to tree in warning, trying to keep her and the dogs away from the baby.
Eventually, the baby found its wings and flew off to safety.
Yesterday
we think one of the babies, and the only remaining bird among the three nests,
flew awkwardly to the ground. Kim and I distracted the dogs long enough for the
little one to hide until it flew off to safety. At least, we think it flew off
to safety. Once we got the dogs back inside and went out again, the little bird
was nowhere to be found.
Our
daughter, Hannah, has a wedding planned for November. We hope that she and her fiancé
Alex will be able to have it, and we hope people will be able to attend. With Covid-19,
we don’t know. Only hope. They have planned their wedding, at least as much as
they can at this point. Time will tell us more. She and Alex bought a house and
move into it one month from today. A nice starter home that Kim and I would be
happy down-sizing to. She is completing her second year as an elementary
teacher and loving it. Her fiancé works full time at a job he loves. Their life
together has taken off.
Our
youngest, Emily, graduated (kind of) from college earlier this month. She was
accepted into grad school for the fall and just registered for classes. She,
her boyfriend, one of her roommates and her boyfriend found an apartment and
will be moving into it in early July. They are excited as you would imagine.
Emily had been working part time for a nonprofit and was offered a full-time position.
Her boyfriend just passed his personal training exam, something he went to college
for, and got a full-time job. While Emily and her boyfriend have a ways to go,
they are on a happy path leading somewhere.
Those
baby birds were cared for and protected and eventually flew off on their own. I
have no idea if the mom and dad bird still watch over their young ones.
Perhaps, perhaps not. I don’t know birds well enough to know about their habits
and nature.
Hannah
and Emily, on the other hand, will always be looked after and cared for. Hannah
by Alex, and Emily by Quavon. By Kim and me, too. Obviously not so much nearby,
but from a distance. I still text them each morning upon waking and each night
just before bed. Sometimes I get a response, other times not. We talk on the phone
once a week just to catch up and touch base.
But
it isn’t the same. They are learning to fly. Perhaps they’ve already learned to
fly and are now testing their wings.
Being
a parent can be difficult. Being a parent is not for the faint of heart. When
the baby is born, a manual doesn’t come with it. Yes, there are books - bibles
of a sort, actually - but nothing like a manual. We get guidance from
our parents, from others who have done it before us. But mostly trial and
error.
And
when it comes time for our birds to leave the nest and fly off on their own, it
can be both a breathtakingly proud moment, and a painful moment. Their dependence
upon us becomes less. We can only hope we’ve done a good enough job at
preparing them for their flight. We can only hope we’ve given them the strength
to make it on their own. Guided them by our example (and I have to admit that
my example has not always been the greatest). Showed them “how” to live
responsibly, with empathy, with compassion and kindness. And helped them
develop the resiliency for life after the nest. Knowing that we’re only a text
or call away.
Parenting
is hard. There are proud moments, sad moments, frustrating moments. We wish we
could have do-overs or a restart. I only wish and hope that Hannah and Emily know
Kim and I did the best we could and loved them fiercely through all the ups and
downs, the twists and turns. Hope so. Best we could do, knowing that we will
continue to do the best we can. Hope so. Something to think about . . .
Live
Your Life, and Make A Difference!
To
My Readers:
My
new book, Betrayed, will debut Nov. 12, 2020! It is a
contemporary psychological thriller using some of the same characters from my
previous work. It takes place on the Navajo Nation Reservation in northeast
Arizona.
Below
is the book blurb. Pretty excited about it.
Integrity
is protecting someone who betrayed you. Courage is keeping a promise even
though it might mean death.
A
late-night phone call turns what was to be a fun hunting trip into a deadly
showdown. Fifteen-year-old brothers George Tokay, Brian Evans and Brett
McGovern face death on top of a mesa on the Navajo Nation Reservation in
Arizona. They have no idea why men are intent on killing them.
Betrayed
is a contemporary psychological thriller and an exploration of the heart and of
a blended family of adopted kids, their relationships to each other and their
parents woven into a tight thriller/mystery.
Rick
Treon, award-winning author of Deep Background and Let the Guilty Pay wrote a
review of Betrayed:
“Betrayed
is at once an emotional chapter in author Joseph Lewis’ continuing
coming-of-age story and an intriguing thriller. Following both law enforcement
and a group of teens searching for a missing boy on Native American land,
Lewis’ latest also provides a unique view into Navajo culture. A layered story
that explodes into a bullet-riddled climax.”
Connect
with me on Social Media:
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
Spiral
Into Darkness:
Named
a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He
blends in. He is successful, intelligent and methodical. He has a list and has
murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no
clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go
on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send
a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and
damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, have no idea
they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local
law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm
Caught
in a Web:
A
PenCraft Literary Award Winner!
The
bodies of high school and middle school kids are found dead from an overdose of
heroin and fentanyl. The drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors and the
Milwaukee Metro area is controlled by MS-13, a violent gang originating from El
Salvador. Ricardo Fuentes is sent from Chicago to Waukesha to find out who is
cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has
an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had
killed his cousin the previous summer.
Detectives
Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the
drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else,
especially George or members of his family. The three detectives discover the
ring has its roots in a high school among the students and staff. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696
Caught
in a Web is now available in Audio format. You can find it
at https://www.beaconaudiobooks.com/audiobookreleases/high-school-drug-rings-gangs-and-revenge-are-all-encompassing-in-caught-in-a-web-by-joseph-lewis
Book
One of the Lives Trilogy, Stolen Lives:
Two
thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and
his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all
the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the
possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://tinyurl.com/Stolen-Lives-J-Lewis
Book
Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
Six
men escaped and are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity,
are in danger and so are their families, but they don’t know it. The FBI has no
clues, no leads, and nothing to go on and because of that, cannot protect them.
http://tinyurl.com/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Book
Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
A
14-year-old boy knows the end is coming. What he doesn’t know is when, where or
by whom. Without that knowledge, neither he nor the FBI can protect him or his
family. http://tinyurl.com/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
The
Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI
Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of
six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they
don’t know one another, the lives of FBI Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern,
and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys
become interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand.
The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives
are in jeopardy as each search for a way out. http://tinyurl.com/Taking-Lives-J-Lewis
Photo
of Birds in a Nest by Marty Southwell and Unsplash.
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe