Empty Nest

I have the distinct privilege of teaching in our school's IB program. My students are currently writing comparative literary analysis papers, otherwise known as the World Lit. I paper. This is a busy time for them and for me. I am certain that this experience will cause me to gray far earlier than mother nature has intended. (Who am I kidding? I spend an obscene amount of money to maintain these natural looking tresses!)

After several frustrating writing conferences where we didn't know that subjects and verbs must agree, that pronouns must have antecedents and that we should pick one verb tense and stick with it, I told them a sweet little story about spring time and baby birds. I'd like to share that story with you here:

You see children in the springtime a momma bird gets to finally see the baby bird faces of the eggs she's been sitting on and keeping warm all winter long. She's excited. She has cared for and protected them with all her might. Now she's out of the nest during the day gathering worms, grubs, whatever she can to feed their hungry little mouths. She's proud of her little babies. She pulls them in close and snuggles up to them. She's as happy as well, as happy as a lark, to come back and regurgitate tender little morsels so that they can grow big and strong. But, eventually she begins to think of the next fall when she'll meet someone nice, settle down and have a new little clutch of eggs. She begins to look at those little birds and well, she's got to get them on their way. They are cramping her style. What male bird is going to want a momma bird with 4 little mouths to feed? She decides it's time for these chicks to go.

So one beautiful, clear spring day she invites those babies to the edge of the nest. One by one she gives each of them a nudge and some of them take off! They flap their tiny little wings and take flight! She is proud! Those are her babies! Not all of those baby birds will take flight though. One or two of them will look out over the edge of that nest and once pushed will flap and flap their wings to no avail. They will fall fast and hard. They will hit the ground where they will eventually be eaten by ants! Now, which baby bird are you?

Inspiring, isn't it?