I am sitting on a plane heading home from teaching a class,
and thoughts go through my head about how I am going to respond on Wednesday
when my son is sworn into the Navy, and leaves for boot camp. Mom’s and their
sons. This is the first time he will be away from me since birth. I know all
the sensible things, this is so good for him and his future, I am so proud of
him, he will come out of this better on so many levels. It doesn’t make it any
easier to say good bye.
This is part of the circle of life, we know our children
will leave, shoot, if we were to be honest, there were moments when they were
growing up we were like, Hmmm, when do they go on their own. LOL. When that day
comes, there is an empty feeling that comes over you. For the past 20 years I
have been living with them in mind. Everything I do, every move I make, every
grocery I buy, everything has been centered around my amazing sons.
What do we do with the empty nest? I seriously never thought
I would feel this way, or say empty nest, but it is. I understand what it means
now. Well, almost, there is still one in the nest yet 😊
and I am grateful for that. I can’t even think about that day, when he leaves.
So, what goals do we set? How do we take care of that space we now have? What do we do for ourselves? Some would say,
Cassie, you are already so busy! Yes, I do keep myself busy that way, but what
they don’t know is, Cameron and I have coffee every morning, he is the one I
call when I need something done, he is the one that comes and sits on my bed
and just hangs with me while I am doing my makeup. The little things, which are
really very big things.
I trust God will guide him, watch over him and he will feel
my love, always. I will now settle into creating more memories with my last one
in the nest daily. Focus on the now, and not when it is his turn to fly. I will
watch Cameron from afar continue to grow as the incredible young man he is and
say prayers of gratitude for the life I have been given with these young men.
Many blessings and love to the moms out there nudging their birds out of the
nest, yet wanting to grab a feather when the time comes for them to fly. We
know there is peace in release. Fly my son, the nest will always be here.
Until nest time, much love …
