Her room was empty and all of her belongings, except her letter jacket and prom dresses, were locked inside the trailer. Her dad climbed behind the wheel of the truck that was pulling it, I followed behind in our car, and we headed down the road. On a day when most kids in the neighborhood were going back to school, the last of our four daughters was moving out.
For this mom, the last few years have been tumultuous. Three years ago, Rachel moved to Michigan with her husband and now, they have an eight month old baby with a second one on the way. In January, Crystal and her new husband moved to Germany for a three year stint in the Air Force. Just three months ago, a new job took Jessica, her husband and daughter to Atlanta. Now, it's the baby's turn.
Mallory and two of her friends have rented a house about 30 minutes away on the other side of the city. The old cliche of "empty nesters" has finally come to pass for us. In light of that, I can't help but be sentimental and reflect on the past 28 years of being a "live-in" mom.
With my background, experience and knowledge, I did the best I could. Did I make mistakes? You bet I did! So has every mom before me and so will every mom after me. Oftentimes, I wish I could go back and relive some of those moments, but that just isn't how time works. It marches on whether we like it or not. One thing is for certain though....there isn't a mother out there who could love her children more than I love my four girls.
So, here I am. A momma bird with an empty nest filled with memories, love and a husband watching baseball. I know that God has always loved my girls more than I ever could. I know He has always made up for my shortcomings and filled in the gaps to ensure they grew into kind, beautiful, and responsible women. I pray He will always protect them, even when they aren't sure He is even there.
For now, I'm going into the kitchen to clean the mess made by the baby bird that just flew the coop.
