Leaving the Nest

Our place is a haven for wild life. We have trees and plants that provide food and shelter. Water is available, and this is very important during the dry spells that occur so frequently in this part of the world.

Currently we have a barn swallow nest that I can easily see from were I am sitting right now. This particular nest is apparently regarded as prime property. There is always conflict before it
is settled just which couple of Barn Swallows or House Wrens is going to get it.

Right now though there is a different sort of conflict. The first clutch of baby birds have been raised and left the nest. The parents are now started on the second clutch, but the first kids keep trying to move back in. Papa is kept very busy shooing them away. This provides a lot of entertainment for the cats as well as some quality thinking time for me.

I was raised by the "cut the apron strings with one chop" method i.e. You are 18, you finished high school, now it's up to you. I consider this reasonable when one considers my mother was the sole support of her mother (recovering from severe burns in a hotel fire) and siblings when she was 14. I had an extra four years of support that she didn't have.

However, it was a shocking experience and I decided to do things differently. I begin sniping the apron strings one thread at a time. At a certain age I quit trying to do a particular task for my child and left it up to my son or daughter to solve the particular problem. I was available for consultation (as I still am) but only if asked. My goal was to create people who, by the time they were legal adults, could survive, better yet thrive, if we weren't around. It seemed to work.

While we till have our connections I know our children are more than capable of surving on their own and that is probably the best gift one can give to the next generation.