Empty Nest Stories

[DoeWDW]

I sent my 2 kids away to college without much emotional fanfare - I knew they were coming back for breaks and summers. But it has hit me that DS will graduate from college next spring and plans to move far away. DD will graduate a year after that and her career plans will take her far away.

I need some happy stories - people who have gone through the "empty nest" stage and have come out the other side. What have you learned? What new joys have you discovered in your life?

 

[Orangeandwild]

We are empty nesters my sons are 32, 30 and 28 years old now (yes I changed diapers forever )

It is a serious change when they go off to college or into the military as you are so used to having them around, I think that was the hardest part when they first left. The two who went to college came home a lot the first year of college as they were only a couple of hours away, but that tapered off as they made more friends and got into the activities there more.

Happy stories...you bet I have them, as all three of them are each within two hours of where we live and we get together whenever we can. DH and I married young and had our children young so now is our time together and we love it!!! No worries over babysitters anymore or if a kid will get home late when he goes out, it is sooo nice. We cherish our time with the boys and we absolutely love to see them now and our grandbabies but we are loving our US time now too.

You are not losing your kids, they are just evolving into adults the same way our own parents are changing from being independent people to sometimes needing a bit of help with things too as they grow older.

We travel all the time now to places we never got to go to when our kids were all home. Now we can travel to WDW frequently as it is sooo much cheaper for 2 adults than 5 people to visit the World. When the kids were home we only got to go once ever two years, now it is 2-3 times each year.

Hope this helps you feel a bit better as your life changes