The Empty Nest

The little ones are gone now and the yard seems empty. There are still many visitors but it’s just not the same. Over the past few weeks, there has been constant activity in our yard as the proud parents prepared to send their children off on their own. It’s hard to believe that in such a short time, we grew accustomed to them being there. I remember seeing them building their nest in the little ceramic house that we put there just for them. It was mother and father working together, getting their home ready. When the eggs hatched, we knew it right away because of the change in activity. Then just a short time ago, we began hearing the babies calling out for food. The parents picked up the pace as the little ones began to grow larger. All day long we heard the constant calling back and forth from one parent to the other as the hunted for food. About a week ago we began seeing their little heads looking out of the tiny entrance to their home.



(photo from internet)

Then last Sunday, it happened. I was out in the yard and some movement around the house caught my eye. Just then I noticed a little bird making his first attempt at flying. He flew only a few feet and landed on the ground. My heart pounded as I worried about his fate with all the cats that we have. My son and I quickly tried to round up the cats but with little luck. The little bird hopped under my boat and I watched as he explored the new world around him. Mom and dad were franticly calling for him to join them but he didn’t listen. (Sound familiar parents?) At one point, the mother joined her little one and tried to coax him to join them in the bushes beside the fence. Finally the little bird hopped up on the boat motor and then tried to fly up on my shed. It was a little too high for him though and he again hit the ground. On the next attempt he was successful and he flew into the bushes and joined his family. The birds began singing like crazy and stayed in that spot for over an hour before leaving.

The next day as I sat there working in my yard, it saddened me not to hear those little birds any more. I thought about how I will feel when the last one of my children leaves the nest and goes off on his own. With Fathers day just around the corner, I am reminded of my own father. It has been a number of years since his death but I still miss him. With all his faults he was still a good father. He built us a home, fed us and took care of us when we needed it.

I remember one time when I got beat up. I was 16 at the time. It was 5 against 1 and some of them were older so I didn’t stand a chance. It was all over something stupid too and I know these guys were only tough because of the odds. When I got home with a huge knot on my head, my father asked what happened. When I told him, he went to the garage and found a nice big baseball bat and told me to get in the truck because we were going looking for them. Dad wasn’t a violent man but seeing one of his children hurt brought him to anger. He said the baseball bat was an “equalizer” and it would make up for the difference in numbers.

We never did find those guys but I did see them in school a few days later. The guy that hit me in the head had bragged to everyone about giving me a black eye but the truth is he missed and hit me too high and there was no evidence of me being hit at all. Well not on my part anyway. Since he hit my head instead o f my eye, he broke his hand and had to go through the year in a cast. Lots of kids that normally didn’t talk to me approached me and told me that these guys were jerks and that they were glad I was ok. I became more popular and they got picked on. I guess I got the last laugh.

So happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.
Have a wonderful weekend and Fathers Day,
Greg