Recently we moved our next to youngest child...our #2 daughter....our #4 out out 5 kids....to Cincinnati into an apartment of her own. We now only have one child still at home and this is something that we have not had in our lives since 1984!!
It took me about a week to get over the "loss" I felt.....I am not actually over it.....but am getting better at dealing with it. Just as I am not over having our eldest move out in 1992, or the next one in 2003 or the next in 2005.
It leaves a hole in your heart each time a child leaves the nest. Someone told me once that this is how it is supposed to be...and it will happen if you have done your job as a parent. I feel good about that I guess...but I also know that I miss my kids like crazy and sometimes long for the days of when they were little.
Then, I think back to those days when life with little ones wasn't easy and I just wanted sometime for myself. I guess that is what I need to do at this new chapter in my life.....I need to re-learn how to do the things that I like to do or what I want to do. But after 31 years of having my children at the center of my life how do I do that? This may take sometime.
I think I might start with an art class....if I can get up my nerve......
I also recently lost my pet chihuahua....my little buddy, Teddy. He was a part of my life for 16 yrs. He was always right there. And now he's not...he was sad to see me leave, but was always excited when I got home. He was the only one sometimes who really cared about me it seemed......you just can't replace that kind of loyalty and unconditional love.
Nothing in life ever stays the same....the only thing you can count on is change......and the older I get the harder it gets to roll with the punches. One of the best lessons I ever learned when my children were small was to be flexible. I am beginning to think that this is true for any age.
If nothing else, this next chapter of my life looks like it will be an adventure....one that I have't experienced yet.
stay positive and embrace your new time in life!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I enjoyed the read. I didn't have the empty nest syndrome as bad as some but it is hard to watch them go away. (only had 1 only went through it once!)
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