I’ve been avoiding the “E” word lately. Empty. As in empty nest. My nest isn’t vacant, but I can see the day when it will be. Well, if I let myself look. Which I don’t. Often.

With one son in college and one in high school – each thriving in his own way – I find myself in a new stage. A stage with time, it seems, for me.

I suspect the next few years will include a fair amount of searching. Internally, for sure. But also in and around St. Joseph and the greater Champaign-Urbana area. One of my first endeavors is sidling my way into The Station Theatre family. This dedicated and creative crew tells stories that matter in ways that resonate.

In fact, I’ve co-produced the play that opens Thursday, WROL (Without Rule of Law) by Michaela Jeffery. You should check it out. I’ll be there. Often.

Tickets, please

The ticket price for each show’s first Friday is always $10. Tickets for the rest of the shows from Oct. 26 through Nov. 5 are $13 for students and those 65 and up; $17 for everyone else. Reserve your tickets today at stationtheatre.ludus.com.

But please don’t ask me exactly what co-producing is yet. I do know, though, that it’s best for someone with actual skill to sew patches on the sashes the teenage girls wear in WROL.

Let me be clear, these sashes are not the pageant variety.

WROL is dark and delightful at the same time. And it shines a big spotlight on what it feels like to try and try and try yet again to be heard. Fearing the adults around them aren’t taking the world’s decline seriously, the girls prepare for the worst while exploring their town’s spooky claim to fame. They teach themselves and their peers survival skills. They carry knapsacks filled to bursting with batteries, beef jerky and more than a few books.

They’re young. And they’re scared. Often. Always, actually. But they refuse to let that stop them.

Hope, hope, hope

I’m not young, as the multiplying gray hairs remind me daily. Sometimes I’m scared, but not about the world falling apart. And I’m not scared about my kids growing up and facing the world. That’s why we had them, so they’d go and be amazing humans in whatever way makes sense to them.

It does scare me to think leaving could mean they leave us behind. I hope and pray that the lives our boys create include me and their dad. Often. That while our nest might be empty, those young men will fortify our hearts with frequent visits. And still give the kind of hugs that sustain us until the next time they come home.

Which brings me to the “G” word. No! Not grandchildren. Gratitude.

I’m grateful for the community-focused opportunities I’ll find. And I’m grateful for the friends before me, including Gather the Good’s own Nancy Kidd. They manage their empty nests – and their life stages – with levels of grace and tenacity anyone would want to copy. And I will. Often.