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Leaving the Nest


“Human babies are only tiny for an instant—their growing up is as swift as the beat of a hummingbird’s wing” (Barnhill 33). 


This quote had stuck with me throughout reading the first half of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. It was beautifully said and could not be truer. Childhood is among the very few things in life that once lost can never be redeemed. The comparison to a hummingbird was the cherry on top. Birds are quick to grow up and leave the nest, much like children do as they transition into adulthood. Being a child is a moment in our lives that flashes by within a blink of an eye. One day we are being cradled by loved ones to being the one cradling someone we love.  


This quote foreshadows Xan’s desire to keep Luna as close to her heart as she can for as long as she can. Because one day Luna will leave the “nest” and venture out on her own. The love Xan has for Luna is also so inspiring and relatable for me. My mother has been a foster parent for 5 years now. My mother, much like Xan, took in another human being who was abandoned & uncared for and loved them as if they were her own. When my family first took in a foster child, I had mixed emotions. It felt good to know that my family was going to provide a temporary safe and loving environment for this child but that also meant that my mother’s attention was going to be less on me and more on the foster child. During this time in my life, I craved attention, especially from my mother. Knowing that my mother had to distribute her love and attention to another child besides me left me feeling dejected-much like Glerk was when Xan first brought Luna home. 


Chapter 5 starts off by saying 

 

“Glerk did not approve, and said so the first day the baby arrived. And he said so again, on the next day. And the next. And the next” (Barnhill 30).  


Glerk did not like the change in his home life at first much like me. Though as time passed the two of us accepted and fell in love with our new homes. The bond this foster child and I had created was something so magical. So magical that I struggle to find the right words to say. But what I can say though is that I loved and treated him like he was my brother. Oftentimes he would be nicer to me than my biological brothers were. The two of us enjoyed taking my dogs on walks to the park and stopping to get ice cream. It was “our thing” that we dearly loved and what truly brought us closer together. Like all things in life, they must come to an end. My family only cared for this child for 6 months before he left to go back home. This child had indeed left the nest like Luna will someday. To this day I hope and pray that this child got the care that he truly deserved. That he never got put back into the foster care system because that is not the life this innocent and sweet young boy deserved.  




Works Cited 

Barnhill, Kelly. The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Algonquin Books, 2016. 

 

 

 

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