A Hen in the Foxhouse

Summary

I was talking with a friend a while ago.  He was telling me how it feels to have an empty nest after nearly twenty years raising two children, both sons.  And he told me of the ache he feels to see his oldest son make choices that go against what he’d been taught, how he’d been raised, choices that jeopardized his well-being – physically, emotionally, spiritually.

My friend told me of a conversation he had with his son right before he left for the second semester of college.  He told him that there would have to be some changes.  My friend began by gently telling him that he was concerned about his barely-passing grades.  “Maybe you should consider moving back on campus,” he said.  “And I think you need to take a long, hard look at the relationships you are investing in, the way you are spending your money and time.”  That lit the conversation on fire.  Voices were raised.  And then two months passed, two months of a father longing to embrace his son, two months of one-word answers to questions, two months of wanting to just go back to the way things were, when his son needed him and trusted his counsel.