the empty nest years

it's back to the two of us, HOM tells me. do you remember the old days of ferrying J1 and J2 to chinese class? i do, as i remember their baby faces and their happy hopes and, as if it were yesterday, the many mistakes i would not make again if i could. i would, if i could, hug more and be interrupted more. i would tolerate more and demand less. i would spend their childhood on my knees, not in despair but with canny strategy.

God gives parents have a peculiar burden, i think. our years to parent an intact family are fleeting, and then we have many years of wistful reflection. perhaps this is why grandparents are so globally indulgent.