A couple of months ago I was at the Rio Grande Valley Bird Festival. I hadn’t been for a few years. I hadn’t travelled as much the last two years to try and fix something that really couldn’t be fixed.
I felt like the prodigal birder. “Sharon! OMG! We haven’t seen you in ages!” That’s one of the things that I love about the birding community, you’re always welcome. As I greeted a dear friend and we caught up he asked, “What’s Non Birding Bill up to?”
I paused awkwardly. “Um…well…he’s traveling the country right now. So, he’s…uh…good, I guess. You know we’re not together anymore, right?”
He looked surprised. I continued, “We made an announcement on my private Facebook page. You liked it and I think even commented on it.”
With shock on his face he said, “I thought that was comedy bit you two were doing…”
And that was a fair read based on the way Bill and I would post on each other’s social media.
Repeat the scenario a few more times that day. Seven Hells, if people I know well couldn’t tell from our announcements that we split, how long will it take the rest of the world to hear the news and stop asking?
So yeah, there’s no easy way to make the announcement that you’ve separated from your partner of over 20 years. Non Birding Bill and I are no longer a couple. Things are amicable…well as amicable as they can be in a divorce. I’ve debated with myself about making any kind of announcement on public social media—that’s not what it’s supposed to be used for, right? And I want to be sensitive to Bill and our families. However, we’ve invited you to be part of our lives either through our writing, our banter on social media, and the podcast, you should know too.
It’s strange time. I feel like I’m in this odd limbo as I navigate what my future is going to be. It will, of course, include birds.
No. I will not be doing a “Divorce Big Year” no matter how much an editor thinks that’s an awesome idea.
But some things will shift—how I tell stories for one. If you’ve seen one of my storytelling shows or heard me at a bird festival, you may have heard my nude beach story. It’s one of my best. But it included Bill. Will that story be funny again some day? I sure as hell hope so. And I hope we continue to be friends and maybe even work on some creative projects in the future.
Eastern screech-owl at Estero Llano Grande State Park in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
And since birds bring me so much joy, I’m going to clear out my archives. So many articles started and unfinished. So many photos and videos taken that never even made it to Instagram. My New Year’s goal is to post a #BirdADay either here or most often on Instagram or the Birdchick Facebook page or Twitter feed. Some will be from the past, but there will also be birds in real time. Feel free to share your #BirdADay as well.