For real...we are 'empty nesters'. It happened very quickly.
It was only ...what? Two weeks ago or so that I spotted the tiny bird heads peeking out of the nest over the back light. Now the fuzzy little fellows have full feathers and are nearly the size of the parents. I saw them out there yesterday morning...well, three of the five were still there then. The other two had departed a few days before.
I hope they are as safe as they were in their nest, but in a much larger home. They certainly were crowded in there! I had the fear that one would tumble out and land on the hard board floor below, but there's no sign that that occured.
Now they've all flown off to who-knows-where. Like our own children, they're off to make their own way. I'm glad that human children stay longer than baby birds do! But, I am reminded, as I think these thoughts, that nature has a way of doing things just as it should. The birds instinctively know when to go, so all is well.
And we are empty nesters....again.