Empty Nest After Your Kids Have Grown Up?
It can be really lonely. Finding your self in an "empty nest" since your kids have grown up.
In the past, there's noise and bustling in the house with your kids. But now, it's deafening silence.
I knew this feeling well.
My three kids - two are now working young adults in their 20s and one in her teen - have their own separate schedules and lives now.
I missed my youngest daughter's playfulness and my taking her to Tom's World or anywhere. In the house, it can be overwhelming the memories of her childhood with her older sister and brother.
Even the sight of a kids' nook in the mall which we used to frequent was priceless after her departure and busyness for school and sport.
Generally, I feel glad how my children turned out to be "independent" and in pursuit of their passions, young though they may still be.
As parents, we have one healthy goal for our children: to give them wings to fly and foundations to empower and prepare them for life.
In the past, there's noise and bustling in the house with your kids. But now, it's deafening silence.
I knew this feeling well.
My three kids - two are now working young adults in their 20s and one in her teen - have their own separate schedules and lives now.
I missed my youngest daughter's playfulness and my taking her to Tom's World or anywhere. In the house, it can be overwhelming the memories of her childhood with her older sister and brother.
Even the sight of a kids' nook in the mall which we used to frequent was priceless after her departure and busyness for school and sport.
Generally, I feel glad how my children turned out to be "independent" and in pursuit of their passions, young though they may still be.
As parents, we have one healthy goal for our children: to give them wings to fly and foundations to empower and prepare them for life.
As the actress Gelli said about her "empty nest" experience, "You must choose your spouse well. Your children will grow up. They will have their own work and raise their own families. At the end of the day, it will just be the two of you. That's how you started in the first place."
Yes, we who are parents of grown up children all need to learn to loosen the reins.
And all we can do is to pray for them and to be available to them as they need support to make wise choices in their lives.
“Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions ... “ (Deut 32:11)
Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Psychology Today put it in another way for parents: "Empty nest, bring it on! Once the nest is empty, we are free to fly!"
Secrets of Your Self: http://www.kobo.com/ph/en/ebook/secrets-of-your-self