Hugged our Mustang goodbye at the parking structure on the 15th and immediately headed out of the country for a trip...
Today is the first day waking up in the empty nest. It's not empty, there is Leigh and our very-happy-to-see-us kitties. But this is the biggest new phase since laying a swaddled infant Dash on the bed and introducing him to two the precursor cats, Kili and Zanzibar.
This is a thousand times "easier" by most metrics, but nests are built for a purpose. Ours is less "empty" now than before we dropped the egg into it. But the emptiness now shrieks.
The nest is not empty, it's haunted.
Some might argue that ghosts are as real as typed words in a Facebook group. That argument is... empty. Our connection is diffuse, but real. Your support is real, and I thank you for it.
I'm gonna call my mama now.