Homing Pigeons

We are considering student accommodation right now, and it appears to be the start of a journey, leading eventually to our children being settled in their own flat or house.  So every time I think about Perran and Carenza leaving home, I get kinda sentimental.    

However, in the last few days, several different friends have been telling me about their fully-grown children returning home after a period of study away, but this time with their partners.  It gives an extra dimension to the expression – “You’re not losing a son, you’re gaining a daughter.”

With soaring house prices and a shortage of jobs, this seems a common current pattern.

For me, it softens the parting, allowing me to believe that maybe my empty nest won’t remain empty for ever. 

Pascoe, however, whose room I keep for him, will not be returning here to live when he graduates from UEA this summer.  Instead, he is bound for a PhD in Glasgow.  Of course, I am thrilled he has the PhD place he most wanted and a bright future ahead of him.  And he has a long summer holiday here before he takes up his place, so I shall make the very most of it.