The Best Nest

I love my house,
I love my nest,
In all the world my nest,
Is Best!

Years ago you could hear the words of this peppy little song being sung over and over in the Carroll home.  It was found in The Best Nest video based on the book by P.D. Eastman.  The book and video was a favorite of  my children.  The story shares the adventures of a bird couple who is trying to find the perfect home.  The wife hated her nest and wanted a new one.  They spent days trying out new places to live with no luck.  Eventually the bird couple comes to the realization that the best nest is their original home that was messy and small and happily moves back to their “best nest.”

I think every couple goes through the “Best Nest” growing pains.  As our families grow, so does our need for a bigger and better nest to hold our little “birds”.   We want the best for them, we want them to be comfortable, and most of all we want them to be happy.  We spend years filling the nest with things to help raise our little birds and the nest becomes full of energy and activity with each new bird added to the brood.  What a fun phase of life, the “nest building phase.”  I loved that phase and I loved each addition to our family that we welcomed into our nest.  As the brood grew, each bedroom was filled and each chair at our kitchen table was eventually filled.  I loved it; no empty seats and our home was alive and buzzing like a hard-working beehive.  But, life is full of change, nothing stays the same and the nest enters a new phase.

It’s funny how you can be cruising along, enjoying life and, BAM!  It changes on you!  My nest began to empty with my first little bird, Ashton heading off to BYU.  And then a few years later, BAM!  Change came again when Dallin spread his wings and flew out of the nest to BYU-Idaho and then months later, a mission to Brazil.  The nest was the same, but the rooms were becoming empty and the two empty chairs at the kitchen table held the memories of my children who once sat there.  It really tugs at your heart to realize that your children are heading out into the world, stretching their wings, and ready to grow without the safety of the nest you have provided them for so long.  As each of my little birds leave the nest, I long for that time when I was building and growing the nest.  I was in charge of nurturing my little ones and caring for them within the walls of my home.  The task seemed daunting, but it was an awesome adventure.
 

My nest is still the best nest, no matter how many little birds are dwelling in it.  I loved when it was growing, I loved it when it was full, and I still love it as the emptiness becomes more and more evident.  As another one of my birds, Landon prepares to graduate from high school and move out to BYU-Idaho in the fall, I must again adjust to one less person sitting at the table and another vacant bedroom.   The nest will be a little quieter and a little less messy but the words chirped from the birds in the book, The Best Nest will still ring in my ears.  No matter what happens, whether my nest is full of children or whether it’s just Stephen and I living there, I will proudly sing,
I love my house,
I love my nest,
In all the world my nest,
Is best!!!