Vol. 32, No. 4, 3. FROM THE TOP.

• Author: By Rick Lavery

Wyoming Bar Journal

2009.

Vol. 32, No. 4, 3.

FROM THE TOP

Wyoming LawyerIssue: August, 2009From the TopBy Rick Lavery Earlier this summer a family of magpies made its home in my backyard. I didn't really notice it until the three young babies left the nest. It might sound cute, but magpies are actually kind of obnoxious. They're noisy and their call is not at all song-like. For a couple of weeks they were particularly hard on the ears. The parents squawked and dove at us every time we went outside. Our dogs loved the exchange and longed to get their paws on the pesky birds. Though the three fledglings had left the nest, we soon learned that it takes a while for young magpies to learn how to fly. They start by jumping around, then fluttering a few feet into the air and then finally into full-fledged flight. The fact that it rained constantly for the month didn't help the flight lessons.

One Saturday morning as we watched the frantic bird parents, Ann commented that things aren't much different for parents of any species. We were feeling a little frantic too. Our number three son David had just left our nest. He's an engineering student at the University of Southern California and he's going to be a senior this fall. We thought we would have him home for one last summer, but he let us know that he'd be heading back to Los Angeles for summer school so that he could be sure to graduate next spring.

Our daughter Janie will be starting college in the fall at Washington State University. When we first started her college search, she announced that she wasn't going to a college in Wyoming or any state touching Wyoming. I think that might have meant she wanted to get far away from me - she's a comedian. Really, she's a terrific young woman, but she's also still my baby girl. It will be hard to see her go. I'm so excited for her, but her departure will be the beginning of the end of our active parenting years. We will be "empty nesters." For now, I'm feeling like father magpie, and I want to see these kids take flight so I can relax and move on to the next season of life.

It's interesting that the end of the era of my kids living at home comes just as my year as bar president and my six years on the Board of Commissioners are coming to an end. As a parent, I am proud of all my kids and I know that their mom and I have...