The contents of this book are excerpted from a 44 year span of journaling and creative writing. Looking back on this body of work, I could recognize distinct themes around the inevitable transitions of my own life. I was also struck by the universality of these transitions and the emotional experiences that they inflict. We all, in one way or another, must grow our wings, learn to fly, leave the family nest, find a mate, build a nest of our own, hatch our chicks, allow them their wings and their freedom, and then search for meaning within that final (hopefully lengthy) phase of life known as the "empty nest." You might find within these pages more than a few life experiences, thoughts, and emotions with which you are only too well-acquainted: - the transition from dependence to independence, with all of its false starts and stops and, ultimately, success; - the thrill of young/fi rst love, the elation of true love, the wisdom of mature love; - the unique satisfaction, self-fulfi llment, pride, that characterize the vocation of being a parent; - the unique heartbreak, disappointment, self-doubt, that characterize the vocation of being a parent; - the pervasive puzzle of God and the innate need to not only acknowledge a higher power, but to constantly make the effort to come to terms with it.