Growing up out in
the country, we had birds everywhere. Of course, it helped that we had a big
yard with cherry, pear, and apple trees, along with assorted maple, and elm
trees. We had willow trees along the edge of the yard separating us from the
river, and a treehouse nestled in amongst three willows at the river’s edge.
Birds? Robins,
sparrows, blackbirds, and some starlings. Every now and then, we might see a
jay or cardinal, but not often. Rarely, actually.
We had this
favorite climbing tree, a big green apple tree. We’d pretend it was a fort or a
B-52, whatever we needed it to be. It sat towards the patio, just beyond the
cherry tree.
One spring,
actually many springs, we’d find a nest. Blue eggs meant robins. Mom and dad would
caution us to leave the nest and the eggs alone because if we touched them,
sometimes even if we got too close to the nest, the mom and dad birds might not
come back to care for the eggs. Most times we would heed the caution, but other
times, curiosity got to us. Like most kids, I guess.
I enjoyed watching
the feeding of the young birds. Peeps and chirps would announce their hunger, and
their beaks would open to receive whatever their parents brought them.
And then, they
would eventually develop the size and strength to fly. They would leave their
nest, find their own mate, and begin their own families. Maybe in our yard,
maybe in someone else’s yard. They would build their nest, lay eggs, feed their
young, and the cycle would begin again. Over and over and . . .
This is the time
of year when many of us see our kids off to college. Next week, we drive Emily
to Greensboro, North Carolina where she’ll compete on the soccer team and begin
her studies. The week after, Hannah begins her final stretch with graduation in
December and the beginning of grad school in the spring.
Their departure
will leave Kim and me with An Empty Nest. (You can picture the frown and you
can hear the sigh, I’m sure. It probably mirrors and echoes your own.)
I have to admit
that it is a rite of passage, a necessary part of life. But that said, I don’t
have to like it. And I don’t. Not at all. Not one bit. Period.
There is pleasure
in watching my girls grow into the young, beautiful women they are and will be.
I’m more than a little curious as to what will become of them. I hope and pray
they will find success and happiness, knowing that there will be bumps and bruises
along the way. I hope and pray that each will find someone with whom they might
share their life with, knowing that there will likely be heartache before they
find “that one guy.”
But . . .
I will miss the
laughter around the dinner table. I will miss their stories from the day. I
will miss . . . them!
I love Kim. I love
being with her. She is my wife and best friend. It’s just that I will miss
Emily and Hannah. I like it when we’re all together, especially after losing
our son, Wil.
I know that isn’t
the way of it, the way of life. I know that life moves forward and onward and
that it doesn’t stand still. I want Em and Hannah to grow up and get out on
their own, but does it have to happen now? Right now?
It seems like
yesterday that I was changing diapers. It seems like last week when they first
went to school, played their first soccer game or swam in their first meet. I
can remember their homecoming dances, their proms, and their sleepovers. I can
remember sitting in the stands cheering them on. And, I remember both of them
walking across the stage and receiving their high school diplomas from me.
I remember it all.
I accept that it is a part of life. I just don’t have to like it, right? Good,
because I don’t. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
Please feel free
to connect with me at:
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
If you like to
read thriller/mystery, check out:
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:
The FBI knows a 14
year old boy has a price on his head, but he and his family don’t. With no
leads and with nothing to go on, the FBI gambles and sets up the boy and his
family as bait in order to catch three dangerous and desperate men with
absolutely nothing to lose.
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
