Surviving Empty Nest Syndrome

emptynesters

I am no authority on empty nesting yet. My oldest isn’t moving out till this weekend. And as long as he takes that nasty couch he bought in college off Craig’s List, I will be very happy. Meanwhile I’ve been planning on how to handle Empty Nest Syndrome. 

Medical Definition of empty-nest syndrome
: a feeling of prolonged sadness, loss, or emptiness that is often experienced by a parent whose children have grown up and moved away from home. {from Merriam-Websters.com}

So here we go. Our youngest moved to college last weekend. Haven’t heard from him much but it is only Wednesday. He’ll be needing money soon so… The oldest moves out this coming weekend. He will be living in the same city so while he will be gone, he will still be close. Guess we will have to start buying our own beer again. It was nice being able to steal his booze for a bit. He never even figured it out. But then again he was still eating our food and using our electricity so he best think about that before accusing us of stealing his beers. 

I know quite a few parents that are still reeling from becoming empty nesters. I’m sure I will miss my kids but I am very excited about the directions their lives are taking them. Hopefully they are street smart enough to not get screwed in the big world, but live and learn right? We all did, and most of us are still alive.

I won’t miss the mounds of laundry, the texts asking what’s for dinner, nasty bathrooms and messy bedrooms. But I will miss the bad jokes, laughter, lacrosse and soccer balls hitting the walls inside and outside the house, the hugs, the scary movies we watched together, the sports games and the school gossip. But it’s time for all of us to grow up and go with the new flow. 

They will come visit, and stay awhile. We will catch up and share laughs and meals together. So far they have made a lot of great choices. Some not so much as others. They are still young and have a lifetime ahead of them. I finally get control of the TV remote and can binge on reality shows and make dinner only if Big Daddy and I want to eat in. It’s a whole new world for us too. I’m choosing to be more happy for them and us at this stage. Not dwell on what I will be missing. 

Who knows. We may just buy an RV and go on some adventures! Or just find a cheap hotel at the beach once in a while. Either way, Empty Nesting is not going to ruin us!

*Stay tuned for more Empty Nest posts as time goes on…..

Cheers Y’all!

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13 responses to “Surviving Empty Nest Syndrome”

  1. YES!!! I’m experiencing this now, after 19 years of raising my daughter alone. I (and everyone who knows me) was sure I would not survive her leaving. Surprise, surprise… I am not only surviving but THRIVING!! I’m traveling to India and the Maldives this winter, going out with friends and volunteering. I do NOT miss the “what’s for dinner” texts. Most annoying thing ever. But you will do GREAT!! I know it. Embrace it… 🙂

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  3. I am thoroughly enjoying my empty nest. My stay at home situation was a little different because me daughter was older when she moved out. Now I wonder why I waited so long to transition her. She’s thriving and coming into herself and so am I. I see it as win:win She comes for a weekend about once a month, but it’s no emotional ending when Sunday comes. We are growing up outside of each other.

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  5. My husband and I are parents of one…a daughter…and we have never been sad about empty nesting. It seemed a natural progression to us. Most of the sad emotions come during times like birthdays, holidays, or other key events we always enjoyed together. When we can’t be together during those key times, my husband and I try to remember how it was like before the daughter was born, just the two of us. Those memories usually get us out of our temporary funk and we go back to our happy go lucky “whatever we want to do” days as empty nesters. Fun. ~Grace P

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  6. I like your spunk. We are empty nesters now as well but doing just fine. Our four kids (three of which are triplets) are great at phone calls and texting which makes it seem like they’re close by. And social media helps us stay informed on one of them. She shares her life very nicely so we all know how she’s doing. Traveling to see them is nice and travel elsewhere is quite fun. So is control of cleanliness and clutter, cooking or not cooking and much more. Not that we don’t miss them but we feel good that the grand scheme is working as it should. They are becoming more independent and so are we. It’s all good.

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