Empty Nest

The jelly is out of the doughnut. What? The bird has left the nest. Huh? The children have all grown up and moved out. Oh. 

Funny, I don’t feel that old but the sand in the hour glass never lies. I suppose it’s bittersweet. On the one hand, I loved having the kids around the house. On the other hand, I couldn’t wait for them to grow up and leave. Well, I’ve gotten my wish and it’s not quite what I expected. I’m sadder than I thought I’d be. I’m sure I’ll adjust. The trick is to focus on the benefits. More alone time. More time with my wife. (Hey, where did she disappear to anyway?) Okay, so maybe it’s just more alone time? Seriously, I’m looking forward to going out. We can travel a little. We can tidy up the house and actually wake up to find it just the way we left it. I can take a shower whenever I want. I can walk around wearing just my…never mind. The joys of living in the empty nest!

Of course, I’ll miss not having the kids around. No, really I will. The house feels empty sometimes – a little too quiet. I’m still catching myself wonder where they are before I remember they’re elsewhere. Then I’m sad… until I realize they took their mess (oops, I mean their stuff), their laundry, and their lizard. And then a smile creeps in slowly. If only I could figure a way for them to take the college debt too…hmmm. Hey, didn’t somebody mention doughnuts?

Monkey Prerogative

I thought I'd start slowly today and attempt to describe what you might expect from this blog.  Honestly, I'm not entirely sure yet.  I'm just one monkey.  In the jungle, one monkey or what he thinks doesn't count for all that much.  But if he manages to not get eaten by a lion, then he gets to keep on thinking, or in my case, writing.

For the most part, I'll aim to keep my opinions monkey-like.  In other words, I'll try to tackle complicated situations with ease, display sparkling wit, and hold on to the branches tightly, all while swinging from tree to tree in the range of topics I cover.  I hope I don't get too serious but I'm very much a serious monkey so I can't make any promises.  Monkeys are unpredictable.  In that vein, the predictability of posting will not likely follow any specific schedule.  I can't be swinging through the trees constantly because even a monkey needs to relax and eat a banana from time to time.  So I'm hopeful that I'll have some Guest Monkeys who'd occasionally like to swing by and share their experiences in the jungle.

Got a topic you'd like to see me explore?  Shoot me an email with your suggestion.  It's time for a banana now and if the lions don't get me, I'll be back to share some more thoughts soon.