A Robin Outside My Door

Just outside my side door, on top of an electrical box, a robin has built a nest. It seems to me a strange place. Nothing really to anchor it to, it just sits on top of the metal box. We use this door a fair amount and each time we open it, the robin flies off in fear, protecting her eggs. For a week, if we even approached the door, which is a French door, seeing us she would fly away, but now she has grown somewhat calmer. The other day when I was doing yard work and walking up and down the drive, it must have made her very nervous, flying out of the next so often I began to worry if the eggs were getting enough of her warm body.

A few days later, my fears proved to be unfounded. I saw a tiny open beak peeking above the rim of the nest as the robin dropped something into it. After watching through the door, I decided to get a closer view. So I got a ladder—and a camera—and climbed up to take a look. I expected to see one, maybe two, tiny birds. I was shocked to see four! I took a picture, but since we use wet process, you don’t get to see these tiny downy creatures who could barely hold themselves upright.

I marvel at the robin’s endurance as she makes scores of trips away from and back to the nest every day. She has mouths to feed and she appears to be doing it alone. I have seen a bigger and fatter robin around—maybe the other parent. But I haven’t noticed it bringing food. I marvel too at the care of the mother robin who, yesterday during a threatening storm, sat on her babies to protect them from wind and rain.

The entire experience has been very touching for me. I walk to the door multiple times a day to check on her and them. I find I’m worried that one of the little ones may end up on the driveway as it starts to grow and experiment. But I also find the experience a kind of metaphor for my own situation. This is week three of retirement. Week three of a new phase of life. Week three of some uncertainty about metaphorical wind and rain. But also week three of hope and excitement. Soon, the little robins will be trying out their wings and not long afterwards, flying off to a new life. I can identify.

Peace,

Jerry+