The ospreys outside Burden’s Martha’s Vineyard home become a motif for life cycles and constancy:

Each spring, [this] osprey couple returns to the same nest on our property on Martha’s Vineyard. […] In lucky years, eggs appear in the nest in May, chicks in June. In July, the juvenile ospreys learn to fly. By September, the family is gone, headed to the Caribbean or South America for the winter (3).

The birds’ predictable pattern gave her and James something to delight in together. This bird family echoed their own happy family. After James left, Burden found it difficult to witness the birds’ continued partnership. She resented the ospreys, which seemed to highlight everything she failed to sustain in her own life: Unlike James, ospreys are “monogamous. They mate for several years, often for the rest of their lives” (29). The birds continued to represent her former marriage: Every time she saw them, she had the impulse to share the experience with James. 

Over time, Burden separated the birds’ constancy from her divorce and learned to find comfort in their repeated and ongoing life cycle. During divorce proceedings, Burden faced many surprises. James, once her rock, became an impulsive and destabilizing source of chaos.