Back to a Nest for Two

It’s been three weeks, now, since we drove our kids the half-day journey to college: Annemarie for her junior year and Jonathon for his freshman. We returned home to the proverbial “empty nest.”

Well-meaning sympathizers (with Kleenex boxes in hand) initially asked, “How are you feeling?” and offered strong shoulders to cry on.

I horrified them away by quoting the closing lines of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous speech: “Free at last! Free at last! Praise God, Almighty, I’m free at last!”

I love my children. If you’ve spent time with me, you know I can’t stop telling stories about them, bragging about their latest adventures, worrying over their current struggles.

But while I have dedicated the last two decades of my life to mothering my children, my children are not my life. In fact, my primary goal as a mom has always been to work myself out of the job!

As the first week went by, Daniel and I marveled daily at the “abnormalities” in our home: One load of laundry. An empty sink. A full refrigerator. An obstacle-free entry way.

Uninterrupted time to talk. Spontaneous walks together. Nobody else to help, prod, comfort, encourage, remind, hear, watch, feed, shop for, clean up after, do anything for.

Just the two of us. Just the way it was when we said “I do” 23 years ago.

Last weekend, as we snuggled on the couch to read together, Daniel sighed contentedly and whispered, “I could get used to this!”

Me too.

Just we two.