My friend, and fellow autism mom, Yolanda, calls it the business of empty nesting.

Michael moved into his first apartment this week. I let him shop the house for things he would need to stock the kitchen and outfit the rest of this space he’ll share with three other guys. He’s a junior at TCU, and each step taken is a further step from the nest. It’s exciting to watch, and a little bittersweet.

Paige is next. She will move into the dorm this week at the University of Iowa. Dorm life is not as nice there in Iowa City. I suspect by this time next year, she’ll be hunting down her first apartment, the way I did after my first year at North Texas.

Back then, in the dark ages, Bruce Hall didn’t have air conditioning. I wasn’t putting up with another year of that.

Sam sees these exoduses and knows he’s got to make his own moves. We’ve talked about it a lot in the past year. He doesn’t have a good enough job yet, but he’s getting there.

Last night, he emailed the folks at Marbridge in Austin. Another young man his age, Daniel, moved there after high school, got a good job at a local hospital, and just this past year, moved out of Marbridge village and into his first apartment. Sam knows that’s the kind of support he needs to make the transition.

We’re supposed to go tour soon.

And so the last fledging, not to be outdone by his brother and sister, starts stretching his wings.