I realize why it's called the empty nest, but I wish the connotation wasn't so negative.
An adult child flying away is a fresh beginning and I'd rather say I'm nearing the New Beginnings time of my life. The New Way for a New Day era.
Well, you get it.
Anyway, Naomi spent all of February packing her belongings so I've gotten used to seeing the stacks of boxes upstairs and empty walls in both her rooms. But then yesterday I opened our linen closet down here and saw that her shelf had been cleared off--empty for the first time in 12 years.
Oh dear. Gut punch. I stood there with my hand upon the door and in one minute felt a gamut of emotions. Sadness for the end of the Naomi Years era, memories of the layers of childhood-through-adulthood bobbles and beads I've seen upon that shelf. Memories of watching Naomi open this cupboard hundreds of times.
But then came emotions of anticipation. Another shelf to do with as I wish! All my 1940's homemaker fancies rose in my heart and I refolded our hand towels which had been shoved in the back of the bottom shelf and lovingly, neatly, placed them on Naomi's former middle shelf.
New ideas, new times--expanding to fill the empty places, that's what I want. That's how I wish to view this time.
I've spent years preparing for Naomi's leaving.
And now? Tom and I, with our long history will continue living out more adventure stories. We will be fine because we have spent time preparing. Spending time together, growing closer.
And the time is nearing to open my own 'hope chest' and spread the treasure all around. Then rise to spread my own wings and celebrate with a flight around my new place in Life.
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It needs courage to let our children go, but we are trustees and stewards and have to hand them back to life--and to God. As the old saying puts it: "What I give I have." We have to love them and lose them. ~ Alfred Torrie
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