Empty Nest – When Goodbye Stinks

 

If you’ve ever dealt with empty nest syndrome, then you understand the ridiculous amount of pain that it can cause those left in its wake.

 

How in the world does a Momma ever fully prepare for her kids leaving the nest?  Since my daughter was born it’s felt like I’ve been on the wings of a soaring bird, enjoying life to the fullest and riding the best air currents in the skies.  She’s my best friend and we’ve been hooked at the hip for nearly a quarter of a century…but now she’s signed up for a ministry school in California, and reality has hit us both; this is gonna hurt, a lot.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I want her to go and believe it’s part of God’s amazing plan for her life; can you believe that I was the one that encouraged her to do it?  WHAT WAS I THINKING???  Did I have a moment of insanity when I encouraged her to do this…and what I mean is, “do this to me?”  This has got to be the hardest transition that any parent goes through, and I for one, am not ready at all.  Wowee…the river of tears has been flowing for a few months already.

 

I truly welcome the boatload of advice (to ride on top of the river instead of being sucked into the undertow of empty nest depression) that several friends have offered up.

My hope is that some of these empty nest painkiller ideas will help you too if/when you have to say goodbye to someone special.

Things to do when you have an empty nest:

 

1. Join a Ladies Bible Study
2. Get a Puppy
3. Have coffee with friends
4. Go on long walks
5. Skype, Text, Facetime regularly
6. Stay busy, but Be Still and Know that He is God.
7. Don’t be surprised if conflict comes during the separation, that’s normal
8. Be gentle and let grace abound, this is a part of growing for both parent and child
9. Spend more time with your church and family
10. Take a photo of them and keep it close at all times
11. Call every day, have others pray for you
12. Cry then get busy rearranging the house, garage, basement, etc
13. Focus on hubby and find new areas sound town to explore
14. Don’t be too hard on yourself
15. Have young adults over to the house that need a mom or mentoring
16. Borrow other people’s kids and bless them
17. Bribe them to come home with pizza and donuts
18. Visit them often if possible or move closer
19. Go on little getaways with hubby, reconnect
20. Send care packages back and forth in the same special box
21. Look forward to having Grandkids someday
22. Foster a child or become a big sister to a child in need
23. Set a routine for updates and check-ins, weekly phone calls
24. Focus on the positives
25. Make a list of things you’d like to do after they leave
26. Clean your empty nest; new hobbies
27. Today God told me to, “Look for ways to love them from far away, ways to bless others too; be outward focused instead of being loss and pain focused.”

 

Remember…YOU are LOVED, empty nest and all!

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