Photo by Imp 1

Imp 1 flew from the nest on Saturday. It is a short-term, temporary flight but his absence is felt keenly nonetheless.

With finals behind them and college ahead, Imp 1 and friends are testing their wings on the Turkish coast. They are only a phonecall away. They update their Facebook pages daily with photos of their adventures on the beach, in Bodrum, the nightlife of Kusadasi...This is not “Midnight Express'.

Still, I worry. I'm sure they'll be fine. They're sensible, responsible young people, but worry is the default setting. This will take some getting used to; my arms do not reach that far.

 Photo by Imp 1

The house is too quiet. The piano keys gather dust. The wires do not tremble with the velocity of Mozart nor quiver with the romance of Debussy. My kitchen is empty of teenage banter in the middle of the day, there is far less laundry to do, I have not tripped over big sneakers somebody kicked off and left lying in the middle of the floor yet this week, the towels hang neatly on the rod in the bathroom, his bedroom is ship-shape and clean.

This is not to say the nest is empty. Imp 2 is in residence, but he's quieter and without the influence of his brother, neater. There is no open-campus for underclassmen, so he doesn't come home with a herd of friends in tow during their free periods. He sings, but he's the bass man so its not much fun to sing alone.

On the bright side, FOTI and I are enjoying our time alone with Imp 2. He's the undemanding child, the one who flourishes with any little scrap of extra attention. We went out to the movies this weekend to see Men in Black 3 (Imp 2's choice). He actually talked to us when we went out for pizza before the film. Without his brother to interrupt, Imp 2 gets more than a word in edgewise.

Last year I told one friend that she shouldn't mourn the fact that her son was leaving for college. She should sit back, drink a glass of wine and be satisfied she's done a good job raising a young man ready to take on the world. I advised another friend that he should encourage his son to live in the college dorms instead of at home because they both need their independence. Last year I knew not my head from my elbow. Last year my first born wasn't headed off across the country for college in September.