Restoring the Nest

Household alert: feel left astray
because your offspring have grown
no longer needing your guidance
and home comforts, prepared to
face life as competent adults
leaving you to cope with the loss
still in your nurturance stage and
adrift, just look a little closer to
home. Their father is still there
and as the original emotional
attachment remains prepared to be
guided and nurtured and pampered
as only his long-time spouse knows
how. Invite him to accompany
you doing the supermarket shopping
filling up the shopping cart with
groceries; task him with looking
for freshness dates on products
teach him to handle produce for
freshness. Then wait for that flood
of nostalgia to wash over you when
you unpack it all once home and
discover all the sugar-salt-fat-laden
items he's managed to sneak into
the cart when you weren't paying
attention. Sigh with satisfaction that
life has now returned to normal.