Families have seasons, and for us we’ve reached that season called empty nest.

Our youngest flew the coop at the end of July. He had to report for pre-season soccer training. But in the weeks since then, we’ve had this crazy season of activity:

• we celebrated our anniversary with a weekend away
• we took a carload of stuff to Nashville so our youngest son could “occupy” his dorm room (it was really hot and humid that day)
• we’ve spent time with our grandson…joy!
• we took another carload of stuff to Manhattan so our college sophomore/junior could “occupy” the house he’s living in (it was really hot and humid that day too…)
• we took a trip to watch our son’s first soccer game
• we’ve spent time with our daughters
• we welcomed back our other son for Labor Day weekend (which was also pretty hot and humid…)
• we took another trip for business and to watch another soccer game
• we’ve gone to Yoga class (it’s pretty hot and humid in those rooms too…)
• and so it goes…I think I see a free weekend on the horizon in the coming weeks, but who really knows (and at least we are heading into a time where it won’t be hot and humid…)

So I say empty nest, empty schmest! There’s no such thing. This is actually what I would call—are you ready for this new term? Extended Nest.

No matter what you read in these words, family is a privilege not a matter of right. We get these seasons to make the most of them. No doubt our house is emptier (we’ve even had to go buy some furniture to replace what the kids have um borrowed). But our life is just as full as they extend their wings and correspondingly extend our nest.

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published September 15, 2015

Topics: Lessons with Bill

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