Once the kids are grown, you get used to a certain level of quiet and order and cleanliness. At first, you mourn the loss of your children and all the sports and friends and the general hubbub of having an active family. Then you wake up one day, realizing that after you cleaned up the kitchen it actually stayed clean. And you only have to wash one set of sheets instead of four. And the total at the grocery counter no longer takes your breath away. And you no longer worry who is doing what, when, and where. It is at those moments you realize that having an empty nest isn't so bad after all.

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Welcome to Empty Nest Full Heart!

I'm a 50-something wife of the one and only man for me and mother of three grown kids plus one add-on.  I've discovered that being a grandma is all it's cracked up to be and more.  I used to look young  for my age and wished I looked more "mature".   Exactly as predicted, those days are gone and no one ever says, "why, you don't look old enough to be a grandma!".  Now I look my age (and probably then some).  I color my hair, subscribing to the philosophy that you can be my age and naturally gray only if you're slender because gray plus chubby just spells "matronly", and I have enough belly fat to look like my body is on backwards.  I wish I weighed 35 pounds less, but so far, I haven't been able to wish them away.  If it works, I'll let you know.

 

Our baby is almost 29 and we've had a grand total of three years with an empty nest.   I've come to decide that "empty nest" is a relative term, and in this day and age,  one reality never to be assumed.  While we have less people living here than before, we have everybody's stuff in our basement, tons of baby gear and toddler toys, and our house is fuller than ever. 

 

I have discovered, however, that there is life past childrearing.  It is a new day and now is the time to make the most of each and every one.  I think that middle age provides a lot to ponder and a lot to laugh at (what else can you do when acne and menopause show up in the same sentence?).    We aren't as young as we once were (as getting up and down off the floor will prove) and yet we're young enough to really enjoy the fruit of our labors.  Now is the time to explore the possibilities, chase our dreams and have fun doing it. 

 

We've survived the terrible twos and the traumatic teens, diapers, braces,  car insurance and college.   We've weathered the storms, waved the white flag, wept through long nights and welcomed  prodigals, while some of us are still waiting.  This is a place to listen to stories and share your own…a place to laugh and maybe even cry…and a place to make new friends who are traveling the same road.  Welcome to Empty Nest Full Heart!

 

Gigi