Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Living The Joys Of Being One Of The Empty Nesters

By Robert King


Raising responsible children is one of the main purposes in a parent's life. There are many ups and downs in doing this. At some point in time, the child will leave home and begin their own, productive life. This leads to the problems faced by empty nesters, one of which is the sadness and dread of facing this. Though it should be joyful, it is not always for some parents.

Parents can take pride in a child who is responsible and getting out on their own, to start their lives with the skills they have learned from their parents. Instead of being proud of the skills their children have learned, though, they are often sad to see their child leave. They need to understand that their child is going to benefit from what they have taught them.

It is important to acknowledge your feelings of sadness instead of pretending everything is okay. Though you may be happy for your child, you may still feel sadness. Acknowledge that and know it is normal. However, if you feel a very heavy sadness that you can't seem to be able to handle, don't hesitate to seek professional help.

Try to think back to things that you enjoyed before you ever had the first child. Many of these things have not been available to you since having children. You are free to now go back and do those things. If no longer enjoy them, find something else you do enjoy.

Finding a new hobby or something that will keep you occupied, something that you were not able to do when you had kids, maybe even something a little bit crazy but interesting. It may be you wanted to skydive, or zip line. Do it now that you have less obligations, and no small child to be responsible for.

This is also a great time to pursue career goals. You may have had to postpone things that would help your career. Now is the time to do that, be it additional schooling, or travelling for work. You can even begin a new career if that is your desire. No family responsibilities are interfering in your doing these things if you want to.

Now is a great time to travel, either across country or internationally. You can even buy an RV and travel across the country, with no time restraints or career obligations if you are retired. Be sure to take identification of your age and retirement status. Many places offer special discounts and programs for those who are older and retired. You have no limits to what you can do now.

Downsizing is very possible now, and may well be something you want. You can either downsize to something cheaper, or something smaller and more luxurious. Move to the beach, or to the mountains, anything is possible. You don't have to worry about what is best for your children, or about the best schools or doctors. You can get by with a smaller house now that you don't have children. You can get a smaller one, maybe one that is much more luxurious.




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