Nest-Schnest

Yesterday afternoon, I find myself once more looking intently at the little birdhouse that hangs right outside our kitchen window. We have had this birdhouse for years and until now, I had never thought of it as anything more than cute and decorative. The whole "bird" part of it somehow never made it into my brain. 


Until this week.


This week, all week, there has been a huge amount of activity around this thing. And I have been riveted. 


Day after day, I have watched birds fly in and out, really busily and carrying ... stuff. Also, there has been a bunch of little bird noise shrieking from the inside of this mysterious place. I have been fascinated and distracted and as Chris was in Seattle, have told him about it over and over again. By phone and by email. I have even brought the phone to the birdhouse for him to hear the little sounds.


Yesterday, as he and I sit on the couch, I interrupt our conversation (again) to tell him "look! look! look at what they are doing now!" It seems that there has been a lot less noise and a lot more fluttering. 


I know that I am way more affected by this whole thing than makes sense.


Chris looks at me, sweetly amused. 


"What?" 


No answer. 


"Well, what is it?" 


And that is when he lets me see, gently, what may be going on for me.


It is 5:00 on a Saturday afternoon and in the last few hours:


- My daughter Tanissa has FLOWN from Seattle to Boston to visit her friend. Talks of buying her airline ticket to Brazil have not been far from my thoughts, either.


- My son Marco has been talking non-stop about my upcoming 16th birthday present to him: I have promised to buy him a SKY-DIVING session. 


- My son Costa is  - as we speak - FLYING a little airplane over the San Juans - one more hour to the flight log book he has been keeping for the last year.


They are ALL flying!!!!


They are all on their way out of the nest.


Ok, honey. I get it.