Having an empty nest isn’t what I expected

This past spring, my daughters and I noticed a bird's nest in our backyard, less than a foot from the kitchen window. The nest was cradled where the branches of our birch tree and our Rose of Sharon had overgrown into each other. For years, my mother had suggested that I should trim both sets of branches. And—like so many great ideas—it was one of those tasks on the to-do list that I didn't get done.