Serendipity

"When care meets timing, serendipity leaves you an egg".

I have been an empty nester for two years now. My first year was really rough. I didn’t know how to feel about anything. It was an uncharted territory I never thought about. It simply just happened in what felt like an “overnight moment” after 20 years. My nest is empty. At the beginning, I noticed all the things I had never paid attention to. The messy drawers, the cluttered basement. All the toys and clothes I kept in bins just in case. All the memories so fresh I could smell them, hear them, hug them. I went through every compartment and space in my house and organized it. I guess I needed to feel a sense of purpose and order. One morning, I woke up and there was nothing else to fix. My life was organized. 

 Today, I wait patiently for my kids to return to me to feel full again. My home is full of laughter and noise again. It happens sporadically, and I enjoy it sooooo much. I have to say it happens often, and for that I feel blessed. My life has been slowly filled again with joy and purpose.  

  A few months back, my twin sister came to visit and said Your life is so serene and quiet, and looking out the window, she said I can picture you taking care of chickens, and pointing outside to my hubby’s shed, she said... right there. First, we laughed, and I said, Wouldn’t that be funny, me taking care of chickens in my empty nest. She left that night, and a tiny spark ignited. I started noticing the rooster living next door more often. I enjoyed him waking me up every morning. I looked out the window and noticed my sweet neighbor walking through her yard, ready to attend to her chicken coop. It looked so foreign to me but so peaceful. I am a city girl; life on a farm or countryside is completely out of my comfort zone. One day, Pinterest happened. All it took was the image of a tool shed transformed into a coop. I was hooked. I couldn’t stop dreaming about it. I designed slowly a little shed-chicken coop. It gave me so much joy to allow myself to dream like this. So intensely foreign. Out of my comfort zone completely. I joked around with my family and friends, and they all laughed. No one believed I could do it. Simply because I don’t like messes, or waking up early, or well…. Pooop. So here I am now, 6 months later and owning a chicken coop with 5 “girl” chickens. 

 This is not just a chicken coop; this is a project for my current life. A happy place where  I could keep healing, growing, learning, and caring for something else. This is a little place where I can be without judgment, completely by myself. Surrounded by my thoughts, my worries, my questions, my dilemmas, my sadness, my joy. A safe little place, my coop. If you are wondering, is she just hanging out inside the pile of hay and lying with her chickens? No. My coop is, well …. I can’t find another way to describe it… bougie. I designed it specifically so I can hang out there too. My studio, where I could paint, have coffee in the morning, or my last glass of wine of the day. 

I finished my coop and bought my baby chicks. Oh, was I so nervous. Was I going to be able to keep them alive past one night? They all survived. I was losing sleep, a bit overthinking if there was a way out. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. Was I really going to be attending to chickens? What was I thinking? So I started doing what I do best. I armed myself with Pinterest boards and educated myself on the manner. I read tons of articles, I am not gonna lie, little books on how to speak chicken. I had the best of the best and latest hacks on coop operatives. I knew that knowledge was my best armor. I have to make a brief but important acknowledgement to my hubby, who so patiently and lovingly stood there supporting my “coop” vision. 

 Everyone started noticing my smile when I spoke about my new endeavor. I have been working hard. I wake up and walk with my coffee in my hand to start my day. It puts a smile on my face to see them waiting there for me. So sweet their little voices of gratitude for my care, and gross larvae treats. I have been learning so much about myself that I didn’t know I was capable of doing. Like touching the larvae. Like cleaning the poop.  And when I am done, I sit there with music and let them all in, we sit by the sun, and I smile. I never thought they could give me so much. My teen chickens are so sweet and chatty, flapping their wings and chasing each other, accompanying my quiet mornings.  I really wasn’t even thinking that much about the eggs, until today. 

I woke up and got my warm cup of coffee. My hubby is out of town for the weekend. Everything is quiet. I looked around and felt a bit lonely, only to remember I wasn’t alone. I put on my cute rubber chicken print shoes and went to my “she-shed. My happy place. I walked in and as I was ready to start my cleaning of the day…. There it was. The most perfect pale blue egg. I haven’t been this happy in here. What an amazing surprise! My chickens are starting to lay eggs!!!!  I held it with my hand, and I started getting teary-eyed. How much work has it been, waiting and waiting for my dream to happen. From the idea of it to the completed project. And in between, I forgot that the egg was the end product. Little did I know that they were giving me more than that every day. It’s not the egg, but this was just the reminder of their gratitude, and mine too. I felt that the whole cycle was in my hands. The miracle of a dream. The uncomfortable one. The one no one believed in. Including me. The hesitation, the doubt, the fear, dissipating right in front of my eyes.  The wait was over. I sat there full of joy, my heart, no lie, full of gratitude, by one egg. 

 I encourage you to follow your dreams, even if they sound ridiculous or funny. If you follow your passion and the path of curiosity, life will do the rest!

Before I go, I have to mention I ate the egg that morning, and when I cracked it,

there were two yolks. It was a full circle. A perfect Serendipity moment. A reminder of my twin sister’s inspiration to follow my dreams. Thanks to her for that spark of hope, and to the chicken that laid my first egg. 

All my love,

Gabriela