Meanwhile, Back at the Nest

In the middle of May, while we were looking for an errant baseball in the backyard, JT and I came upon a robin's nest in the middle of a giant, thorny bush.
It was startlingly beautiful, this project of a robin and Mother Nature, and JT and I were immediately charmed. We showed our secret nest to everyone who came to the house, amazed by the secret wonder. JT never doubted that the eggs would hatch and we'd have baby birds to admire. I worried that he'd be disappointed or, worse yet, the birds would hatch while he was away and he'd miss it all.

Then, last week there were cracks in a few of the eggs. Finally, on a terribly hot Saturday morning, two of the tiny birds emerged. JT heard them first while he was playing outside and he rushed inside to share the news with me. "Mama, they've hatched; they've hatched," he said with great excitement, "Come and see."

And indeed they had hatched. We could hear their sweet chirping when we stood on the back deck. I am often reminded that New Jersey really is a garden state, wooded and lush with greenery and wildlife, even here in our corner of a town located less than two miles from a major highway. I appreciate that about this place and, more than that, I love having a boy with which to share such wonders.

The boy has been away for the past week, visiting his other mom's family. I've stayed here at our temporarily quiet nest. I've missed every element of regular life as guided by JT........distribution of fudgesicles, backyard baseball, silly jokes, bike rides, dirty hand prints on the glass, reading to a boy before bed......all of it. It all returns tomorrow, when the boy walks through the door.
Safe travels, little boy. The nest hasn't been the same without you.