Empty nest syndrome is a phenomenon in which parents experience feelings of sadness and loss when the children leave home. The empty nest can elicit profound grief, loneliness, and loss, especially for women who have had the lion's share of raising the children, maybe being a full-time mother or only working part-time. That's not to say men and career moms don't have a hard time with the change. They can suffer just as much. I know my husband has had his struggles, although I don't think it has been as profound as mine, but I was a stay-at-home mom. 

While you have actively encouraged your children to break out on their own, the experience of letting go can be painful. It might be difficult to have no children at home who need your care. You might miss being a part of your children's daily lives as well as their companionship.

 In this episode, I'm going to focus on the struggles with the empty or nearly empty nest, as some of my listeners are on the cusp of the empty nest, and they need to know how to prepare, so I'll cover both. 

There are different levels of the empty nest. One is when your kids are still dependent on you, say in college, and only come home for holidays. The other is when they have gone out and become totally independent. So, some may have an empty nest part-time and some full-time. Either way, there can be sadness and grief throughout these stages.

 I have one totally independent and one just graduating after attending lineman school. He will be returning home to live with us until he gets a job. But, with his work, he will likely be living far from us and working insane hours, so I'm expecting to go through some grief yet again. At least my daughter lives close by. For that, I'm very grateful. 

You know, I had some very grandiose ideas of what life would be like when my kids got older.  When my kids were younger, I remember on really challenging days thinking about how much easier life would be when my kids were older. Of course, I enjoyed more beautiful days with them than not, but it was just a lot of work. When they are older, I thought, boy, I will have all this time to do all the things I never have time to do. The reality was a bit different. 

First, let's talk about some of the most common experiences for women going through the empty nest. The loss and sadness in empty nest syndrome can make one vulnerable to depression. There can also be an identity crisis. Then there can be Glaring problems in the marriage that have been ignored but rise to the surface, causing marital conflict.  So I'll talk about those three things.

For complete show notes, go to http://reviveyourmidlifemarriage.com/19