Welcome Home

After a few gluttonous days in Denver, I needed to excrete some sugar and alcohol imbued-sweat by going for a jog this morning. It was a beautiful morning – a top ten day with partly cloudy skies, dewy grass and a slight breeze. I was running along, thinking about our time in Denver, with our fun kids and their lovely partners, listening to a song by the Silversun Pickups called "Empty Nest" (coincidentally) when I came across this:

A blurry screenshot of the video

Turkey vultures. Our daughter had just informed us of a fun fact: a group of ravens are called a murder. I couldn't help but wonder what a group of turkey vultures was called. Could it be a murder too? Or perhaps they are just called creeps. I was far enough away to stop and record, sending some Jungle Boy commentary to our family group chat. But as I was filming, one of the creatures faced me and extended its wings. I decided to scoot. I would've zoomed in and taken a photo, but I didn't want to. I skedaddled and took a quick glance behind me to see that the other turkey vultures were also now facing me, wings stretched wide. Apparently, they suspected someone was about to drop dead from running. Suckers. It only made me run faster.

As I turned on our road into the safety of less creepy animals like cats and skunks, I considered metaphors. Strangely, the Frontier plane we traveled home in had a condor on its fin. Undoubtedly, God was making me consider vultures while obsessing about our kids who are making lives for themselves in the wild west: Denver and now Scottsdale. But if I learned anything this weekend, I realized what a joy it is to see our progeny making lives for themselves. It doesn't seem all that long ago that we were the ones to stress about money, jobs and living arrangements. Sure, we met a few vultures along the way. We faced them. We studied them. When they threatened us, we ran home. I'm not suggesting the kids need to run home anytime they face a vulture (although they are quite welcome.) But I am suggesting they find the people in their new communities who are their home and their security. I think, our kids already they know this. They have wonderful people by their sides.

How about a cow metaphor now?