• Empty Nest

    Can We Go Back to Where We Fell in Love and Fall Again?

    Travel back to 1978 with me, and you’ll see us on the isle of Crete looking like a couple of characters from the flashbacks in Mamma Mia. The Consultant and I had been dating for eighteen months and we’d already extended our agreement. The agreement was to go our separate ways if we reached the one-year mark. We thought it was sensible since we were so young and neither of us had been looking for a partner when we met. It was reasonable to think, at 17 and 19; we needed to keep our worlds open to other personalities and experiences. But when the anniversary arrived, we were enjoying life. We…

  • Empty Nest

    Return to Dance

    I’d just added finishing touches to the Chicken Cacciatore dish I was creating. There was a cross-breeze through the open kitchen / living area of the cabin, so the heady aroma of tomato and fresh basil filled the room and wafted out the windows. As the classic Bill Withers oldie Just the Two of Us came up on my playlist, the hungry and tired Consultant came through the door. “It smells great in here!” He grabbed my hand; we smiled directly into each other’s faces and started to dance. I took the lead and twirled him before he could twirl me. When we stopped before the music ended, we laughed. Nothing…

  • Empty Nest,  Family Legacy

    Keep the Nest Feathered with Social Media

    Last Saturday night, while checking my Facebook page for earth-shattering activity, updates or events that I might have missed in the last twenty-four hours, I connected with my middle-aged cousin, who was in contact with 3 of her other friends while, at the same time, I was in contact with another of mine. She drew my attention to the coincidence and via instant messaging, we wrote comments to each other on what our lives have become. We couldn’t help but notice how many of us were sitting alone at our computers at 10:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, attempting to make contact with the outside world. Then it occurred to…