The Meaning of Empty Nest
The empty nest can mean something different to everyone. I personally don’t think of myself as being in a fully empty nest scenario, although it certainly felt that way on August 29th when I dropped my youngest son off to college for his junior year.
I came home to find my house very quiet and a bit lonely. It was odd transitioning from a house where my son attended college remotely for over 18 months, due to the pandemic, to just me and my husband and our very old dog, Cinnamon. Although college drop-off is not new to me, it was like going through the same separation anxiety that I experienced two years ago when I dropped him off as a freshman. Somehow, I did not expect it to feel that way this time, but having him home for 18 months made it feel like high school to college all over again. This brings me back to a question, is this really an empty nest, or is it a temporary empty nest, and what should I be doing?
Is now the time to downsize?