Then They Leave the Nest

I titled this with a bit of a cliche. Of course we all know that our children eventually grow up and they leave us. This is, in fact, our job. Our children are SUPPOSED to grow up, find our homes and rules a little confining and make their way into the world with friends, jobs, and a life which is their own. If we have really done our jobs, and we are very lucky also, then their new lives echo some of our own, and we can sit back knowing that some of the traditions we had will echo in another family long after we are gone. I qualified this a little because I have friends who really did most everything correctly, and still have grown kids that most parents would have a hard time being proud of, at least at this juncture. Kids can be a work in progress, and a difficult economy and financial uncertainty does not help.
This time in my life was supposed to have been very good. Our daughter has graduated from college, finally found an excellent and interesting job, and is saving for her own home. Our eldest son, ended his engagement, but is doing well following his graduation from college. Our son Matt is doing well in college and starts a part-time job there this week. James, our bonus child, despite the fact that he claims frequently to be bored, seems to be doing well. Still, Daniel is not here in the flesh. There is no one spurring us to try new recipes or restaurants. Even with all these people using our home as a base, it seems still, and even after two and a half years, it is quiet somehow. This week when we celebrated Stephanie's birthday, and we all sang "Happy Birthday",there was palpably someone missing. With all of the other kids either through college or on their way, this was to have been our time. This was to have been the time Daniel and I, and Daniel and his Dad did things together, as we readied him for college. There is so much we did not have a chance to do. So much that I think we might have had to urge him to do, but that he would have enjoyed. The early years of Daniel's life were joyous for us, but as he grew, we were consumed by life, and by the two serious illnesses of our other children, until they were stabilized. We never really got the chance to travel with Daniel much, and this is something I believe he would have enjoyed. We love our other children, and are very grateful to have them,and the gift of James with us. However, there is, and I suspect there always will be a missing place where Daniel isn't. When Daniel was small, there was a child's song that used to make him cry. He would cry at the verse which starts, "Sad mother duck..." Well, we are at that part now, and only four of the ducks are able to return to me. I miss my littlest duck, even though he was taller than I am when he departed from Earth.


Five Little Ducks

Written By: Dorothy Aldis
Copyright Unknown

Five little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only three little ducks came back.

Three little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only two little ducks came back.

Two little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only one little duck came back.

One little duck
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But none of the five little ducks came back.

Sad mother duck
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
The sad mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack."
And all of the five little ducks came back.

This is Raffi "Five Little Ducks"
The man has a magical gift with young children.