Birds

Dear Friends,

Pat and I are empty nesters. Our son Ryan and daughter Emily left for college and we are without a child in the home for the first time in 26 years. Our last has flown the nest. The silence is deafening….

[moment...]

Okay, now that I’ve had a moment, have you noticed how often birds are used as metaphors for family situations? My kids have flown the coop. Emily is a free bird; or is she caged by college life? I can so vividly remember my wife’s nesting instinct before Emily was born, flittering here and there, preparing for the moment. We watched Emily grow from a duckling to a graceful swan soaring through school work and sports events. Now she’s gone. Will the homing instinct kick in?

But this is no time for brooding. Someone might say that my wife is no spring chicken – but that someone is cuckoo! This old bird still thinks she’s the cat’s meow! We’re together again like two love birds, rising from the gloom of an empty nest like phoenix from the ashes! Watch us fly!

B.J. “Blue Jay” Huizenga


PS Next week I promise to be serious, but for the time being, humor is what keeps me going.