It has been one year since I experienced the “empty nest”. I wanted to write this blog from a different perspective now that the wound is not so fresh. I say wound because a year ago that is how I felt.
The first few weeks you feel lost. No more reasons to get up early, no more late nights helping with homework, no dinners to make.
Your probably thinking, “so what’s the problem”? The life you once knew is gone. Time is the only thing that heals this wound.
You walk by their “clean” room with their favorite stuffed animal sitting on the bed and you start to cry hoping the universe made a big mistake.
Part of you wishes they would change their mind and come home. As the weeks pass you know that isn’t going to happen and reality starts to set in.
Finally, you realize it was your job to make them independent, self sufficient young adults and it was job well done!
They are spreading their wings and a new chapter begins in both of our lives.
**Men are affected just as much as women when the family dynamics change but they try not to show it.
Rob Lowe writes about the emotional toll the empty nest had on him in his memoir Love Life.
“I have been emotionally blindsided. I know that this is a rite many have been through, that this is nothing unique. I know that this is all good news; my son will go to a great school, something we as a family have worked hard at for many years,” Lowe said. “I know that this is his finest hour. But looking at his suitcases on his bed, his New England Patriots posters on the wall, and his dog watching him pack, sends me out of the room to a hidden corner where I can’t stop crying.”
If you didn’t already love Rob Lowe this seals the deal!!
Read the rest of this article at qpolitical.com
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