This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. We write for just 5 minutes without heavy editing on a one-word prompt. Today’s prompt is “comfortable.” Let’s see how it goes.

When our daughter was little, she said to us one time, “Why do we even have a comfort zone if we’re just supposed to get out of it?”

What a great question! I like to be comfortable. I don’t like sleeping in places that have strange smells or are dirty (besides camping, but that’s a whole other discussion). I like to feel cozy and have a nice view and have things around me I love.

Like my family.

Recently, said daughter, our youngest child, moved out. I don’t like hearing the empty echo of her room now devoid of all her stuff. I haven’t yet cried because we’ve been busy helping her settle in (and she is close by and will come for family dinner once a week), but this event has brought up the dichotomy between being comfortable and spreading your wings.

Fledging is supposed to happen, both for birds and for children. Unless there are extenuating circumstances of disabilites and the like, we want our kids to find their own way in the world. Not that they are all alone in the process, but that they establish their independence and learn how they want to be in their own space.

I’ve been so thankful for the soft (dare I say comfortable?) landing spot God has given my daughter. She found a great fulltime job just a few months after graduating from college, and now she’s got a living situation in a house with three other women that she already immensely enjoys. She’s right across the street from her office, and she’s 15 minutes away from us.

I never gave a thought to how my mom felt when I moved out of my parents’ house. If she were still alive today, I would apologize profusely for not considering how my move affected her. It was an exciting time of new beginnings for me 40 years ago, and it’s a new beginning for my daughter today.

Fly, precious little birdie. You’re going to be just fine.