A Snowy Day Alone
Where Empty Nester Parents place their emotions
Belgium, 2012 | family trip to Europe; photo by Randy WoodsTwenty somethings still need hugs and snuggles. They are just expressed differently in gas-fill ups and loans with no interest. My Mom and my Dad did a great job balancing giving me the love I still craved and the independence I needed once I was in my 20s. Now that I am an empty nester myself, I understand deeply how difficult it must have been for them. I was fiercely independent and probably forgot to regularly call to say hello, rarely visited and forgot to say thank you. They must have missed me and my brothers so much and experienced this loneliness after the intensity of early child rearing. I wish I had noticed back then.
Taylor and Spencer,
I love you so much I don’t know where to put it.
When you were little I put it in kisses and snuggles;
I put it in little presents
And homemade cookies.
I put it in outings and bandaids.
I would put it in Christmas trees and Easter eggs.
Now you’re gone and my love for you floats around me
Like magnets without their attraction.
A snowy day alone.
February 12, 2019.
