Empty Nest – Honor Your Feelings

You’ll probably read that most experts agree there are a host of emotions for parents facing the empty nest – sadness, loneliness, mild depression, grief and a feeling of loss of identity (who AM I?)

Sometimes you may wonder if you did a good job parenting (are they really going to make it on their own? Won’t they starve?)

Guess what? I give you a free pass to go ahead and express those feelings, for a few days at least.

Grab the Kleenex. Cry. Walk by their room, sit on the bed and mope.

OR….

If you are feeling happy about your empty nest, go ahead and feel happy!

Either way, don’t fight the emotion. Acknowledge it.

Don’t be afraid of your feelings. Believe me when I say that you’ll get past those feelings, especially the negative ones.

In fact, don’t be afraid to share your feelings. Maybe schedule a night with your spouse and tell them up front that you need to talk about these new feelings. Assure them you aren’t looking for them to give you answers (they me having some feelings of their own) but that you just need to let them know how you are feeling right now.

I also encourage you to write down your feelings in a journal if you don’t feel as though you can talk about them. Perhaps you can call a friend or find someone else who has already gone through the empty nest stage.

If you have never journaled before, be sure to grab my free journal sample. It could be just the little help you need in maneuvering down the “empty nest road.”

The main encouragement is to accept that this stage in life is a major life change – a transition. Dealing with your feelings is a major, positive step towards getting over that hurdle.

Kim Steadman is the COOP (Chief Online Operating Person) for The Re-Feathered Nest. A place of encouragement for moms entering the Empty Nest Zone who find they need to Re-Purpose and Re-Design their lives now that the kids have flown the coop. Kim can be found on Twitter at @kimsteadman1 and on Google+ at +Kim.