Marriage in the empty nest

by M.L. Keton, as told to
Audrey Carli

Our once noisy but happy home was now an empty nest. I was striving to adjust to the sudden silence by taking a night course to learn how to knit. My husband Fred had agreed with that decision.

After class, I walked into the too-quiet house and called, AHi, Fred! I'm home!@

Silence.

@Fred?@

Silence. Two women in the class that night had expressed concern about their marriages. Both said their lives had been solid before their children grew up and left home.

Now I stood, shivering. Fred had wanted us to go for a walk that night. I had declined because of my scheduled night class. He had seemed disappointed, but he had smiled. Had he been hurt? Had he decided to just leave me alone in our empty nest?

I told myself my imagination had gone out of control. Fred and I had a loving marriage. We had bought groceries with savings coupons, shopped at sales and maintained a tight budget to save for a house down payment. We still lived in that hard-worked-for house. Our two children had had birthday parties, family trips, church and love while they were growing up. When they were teens, we had had concerns about them, but, with prayer and love, things had worked out.

Now was all that gone? How I wished I had taken that walk with Fred. What had happened?

Somehow I calmed down enough to hang up my coat and put away my knitting bag. The silence called me. Shivers shook me while my mind echoed: AAlone!@

Staring into the darkness through the front window, I regretted that Elsie had driven us to our class that night. The car was here so Fred took it somewhere.

My thoughts scattered as a car door slammed. The kitchen door knob creaked, and Fred stood in the room, calling, AHi, honey! I went out for pizza--your favourite kind.@

I rushed toward my husband and hugged him. Later, I told him of my concerns about our lives in the empty nest. ASome marriages get shaky, I heard.@

@We've had a good marriage for over 20 years, hon. Why can't it take a change-over to the empty nest? We made marriage vows to love and honour each other in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.@

In the year since that night, I have learned that love, faith, prayers and God's love keep marriage strong.

Audrey Carli is a freelance writer from Stambaugh, Mich.

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