Empty Nesting (2009)

I remember the final weeks before delivery like it was yesterday; unfortunately, it was 21 years ago. Experts refer to it as "nesting" but my husband called it insanity; an ADHD wonderland. Our home was awash in semicompleted baby projects and adrenaline. And because I was an informed mother of 2, I had included a big brother and even bigger sister in the festivities. We were having fun but accomplishing very little. The baby's room had a menagerie of crayon animals that were sure to spark imagination (or plant the seeds for future phobias.) The crib was home to an avalanche of plush creatures eager to welcome the future resident. A high chair, with only one leg caked in fossilized mashed potatoes and applesauce, had transformed our kitchen table from a perfectly symmetrical square into an unbalanced rhombus. Little did any of us know that the frenzy that preceded the arrival of the final member of our tribe would pale in comparison to the chaotic joy that would follow. For the next 18 years, there would barely be a moment in which to catch our collective breath. Life would be a torrent of laughs, fights, hugs, tears, bookended by love. The current propelled us through life.