Monday 15 June 2015

Just growing up


I turned on the computer this morning to find that 2 of the 3 Bath Peregrine Falcon chicks had already jumped the nest, leaving this one trying to pluck up the courage to follow. I really remember how it feels.

At barely sixteen, I had a place in art school, and the day before I was to actually leave home for good, I began to worry. All sorts of anxieties filled my little mind - I didn't have any friends in that town; The town itself was a whole 20 miles away from my nest; I had never done my own washing before; I didn't know how to fly...

Of course, once I fledged, it all came naturally and I was all but unaware of the real dangers involved in simply surviving in the big, wide world.

Jump... jump... jump... jump...

12 comments:

  1. 16 was young. I flew the coop at 18 and found that tough. My oldest left the nest last autumn and today sent a text saying she was unwell and wants to come home while she's ill.

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    1. Yes, I used to save illness for home visits too. Every child does. "MUMMY!"

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  2. 16 is young I think ….. nowadays, our children leave home for Uni at 18 and even then some of them are too young, mentally, to deal with it. I know quite a few that have got into difficulties. Ours coped well with it though.I guess we are all individual and are ready at different ages.
    Where did you live when you started Art school at 16 Tom …. I mean were you on your own or did you share with someone or did they have Halls ?

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    1. I shared a house with Cro and a few others. £2.50 a week rent, plus mad landlady and obese daughter.

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  3. I watched a video recently of birds fledging from a bird house. The first ducked its head in and out and in and out until the one behind apparently gave it a mighty shove, because as the first bird went ass over teacup the second head appeared, grinning.

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    1. Many take their first dive with a little help from their siblings...

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  4. We had a robin's nest in our yard this year. I watched the last of the young ones trying to get up the courage to leave the nest. It was perched on a wobbly branch, looking down at the ground and giving itself a pep talk: "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. Any moment now I'm gonna do it."

    I think that when it comes to leaving the nest a little bit of 'ignorance is bliss' helps. You just hop on out there and if you don't know much of anything, there is not much to worry you.

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    1. Robins are natural and vicious killers. Forget the Christmas cards.

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  5. I didn't leave home till I was 21 to get married - now that was a shock to the system and a big mistake. I had never done any of the housewifey things before - I was just so naive and innocent - talk about learning curve.

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    1. You are quite old-fashioned, then. That's not a bad thing, unless you marry some Jewish mother's favourite son.

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  6. An ICU nurse told me once that most of the critically injured (car accidents etc.) teens in the ICU were 19. Seems to be the magic number for doing stupid things that affect them or others for the rest of their lives. My daughter was nineteen, drunk and riding in a car where all 5 kids were thrown from the car in an accident. A TBI is for life.

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    1. I have been supplementing their car insurance premiums for years.

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