Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I just commented to a parent who was feeling the beginnings of empty nest syndrome after sending one child off the college and the youngest off to begin their first year of high school. So why does empty nest syndrome affect us so much?

The day we bring children into our household is the day an organized sense of chaos becomes a welcomed part of our daily lives. And when those children grow and leave us, a hollowness appears in the pit of our stomach that’s difficult to discern.

One part sadness, another of mourning, still more of a sense of accomplishment that we succeeded in our quest to create capable young adults. Those emotions swirl and churn in our gut, filling us with an almost overwhelming sense of loneliness. Why? Because, for the first time since bringing those children into hour household, thus encasing ourselves in a constant of organized chaos, we finally have a state of calm bathe over our households.

Learning how to make the transition from active children-filled household to that of an empty, or almost empty, nest can be a bit jarring. But take heart. Although this sudden calm is as foreign to us as a new language, it’s the natural order of things, and knowing this is what gives us strength to willingly accept this new phase of our lives.