The nesting instinct

I remember when the nesting instinct took over during my last trimester of pregnancy with my son. It was a very purposeful feeling, and involved a great deal of bustling about, arranging furniture, assembling outfits, and so forth.

When Big Brother would spend the summer with his father in Florida, the nesting instinct would take over again. I would spend every evening working on his room, painting, organizing, preparing for his return.

I did it with the foster kids, too. I literally unpacked our whole house in less than three days. When the kids arrived it was to an organized, functional home where a freshly painted room decorated in red and white with pictures of their parents and extended family on the walls awaited them.

I've been nesting again lately, although this time it isn't the harbinger of a new beginning, but of an end. At twenty-one Big Brother is preparing to leave the nest, to go out into the world where he will build a nest of his own.

A cozy reading nook in the living room

However long or short our remaining time living under the same roof may be, I want his memories of this time to be as 'home, sweet home' as I can make them.

I've been cleaning, scrubbing, and rearranging all weekend, washing away the past in preparation for the future. It is as much for me as for him, I do realize that. When he leaves the nest a new chapter will begin for me, too. What it will be, where it will take me, is unknown and more than a little bit scary.

For now I'm content to be in the cozy little bubble of the here and now, nesting with my fledgling chick.