Mother birds have a very tough job. They deliver an egg into the nest. Then dedicate their time and effort to protecting the egg until the baby bird begins to appear. Soon there are hungry mouths to feed. The nest is cramped, noisy and often just plain smelly. The mama bird relentlessly leaves the nest to search for the unsuspecting worm or too tired to run bug.

She returns to the nest and feeds her little ones first, making sure they are full and satisfied. She then covers them with her own body, making sure to tuck them under her wings.

Soon, though, she senses it is time. The nest has gotten very crowded as the babies have grown. They are getting very inquisitive but will only stand near the edge of the nest…careful not to get too close. Every day they do this. They flap their wings, the chirp loudly and they wait for their mother to bring their dinner. But the mother bird knows she has a job. If not for her, these babies would never venture out on their own. They would never know the feeling of having the wind literally beneath their wings.

So… she pushes them out.

Yep, you heard right. She simply nudges them the next time they stand oh so close to the edge of the nest. One at a time. The first few seconds her heart leaps to her throat… that’s her baby!

But it only takes those few seconds for nature to kick in. For instinct to overcome circumstance and the baby flaps its wings and its body rises up above the nest… above the trees… disappearing into the blue sky.

Suddenly the nest is empty.

“No! Wait!” The mama bird thinks desperately. “Come back!”

She is now all alone. She now has that whole nest to herself. She can eat all the worms and bugs she can hold without being attacked by hungry beaks. She can close her eyes without fearing for their safety.

They are all gone.

The mama bird breathes in deeply. Surely this is good. This is right. This is life.

She knows that in her heart and she relishes her new found freedoms… but still. She misses their chirping. She misses their smell. She misses their messiness. She misses their neediness. She misses their nuzzles in the nighttime. She just misses them… and that is ok.

She is a Mama bird with an empty nest. “Now what?” She wonders as She perches up on the edge of the nest and chirps softly into the wind searching the horizon for just a glimpse of her babies.

But then she see them… each one.. flying higher than ever… the sun shining on them. Their future is bright…their life just beginning. She feels good about the job she did raising them. She knows she did what she could to prepare them. She is happy.

The nest is empty but she is happy.