Nested Interest

It’s now been just over two weeks since my cousin’s daughter completed her summer internship and moved back home. She lived with us for six weeks and during that time, we became so close to her that our nest seems a little empty at the moment.

Our cousin bonded with each of us in different ways. She was like the fun older sister to our two girls, allowing them to tag along with her on trips to Target and scheduling movie nights for the three of them. To my husband, she became like his oldest daughter – he made sure she had enough cash in her purse, enough gas in her car and enough directions to get where she was going in a strange city.

To me, she was a combination of roles. Certainly, I was aware she was family – and that we had inherent traits in common – but she was someone I WANTED to spend time with, not someone I felt like I HAD to because we were related. She was like a friend I would have met at work or someplace where it’s acceptable to socialize with people outside your peer group. And she was like a grown daughter to me, too – someone I could have adult conversations with in one instant and then instinctively want to protect and take care of in the next.

Now that our “oldest daughter” is headed back to college soon, we are grateful for the time we got to spend with her this summer. But we really miss her and the daily interaction we had in each other’s lives.

Since our girls are only six and five, our nest is far from quiet or empty. However, as quickly as time flies, we’ll be sending them off to college before we know it – and I wonder how I’ll cope with the separation.

As much as you want to give them wings to fly, it is difficult to let them go – whether they’ve been in your nest for six weeks or 18 years.