#1 It Didn’t Happen Overnight…

His car laden to the hilt with his most prized belongings, Sam began to back out of the driveway. More words of wisdom from his daddy and me, and with that he was pulling away; heading to his new home eight hours away. Away from all that is familiar, away from those that he knew and loved, away from our nest. That is when it hit me.

It didn’t happen overnight; it started gradually. One feather at a time. Our oldest was off to college first, leaving his younger brothers behind, and thus leaving a couple of birds in the nest. Three years later he was followed by our middle son, which made the nest feel emptier, yet we still had “the baby” left to fill our home with the endless sounds of high school teens. In fact, even when our youngest set off to college, we still had the boys all within an hour’s drive, coming and going on random weekends, so the nest still didn’t seem completely empty. Which is why this day was so difficult.

We had spent the past twenty six years preparing for this very moment. Years of raising our boys to become the men that we had always prayed they would be. So many teachable moments, shared memories and every morsel of love in our hearts had brought us to this season. Outside I felt as though I should be rejoicing, but inside I was a mess. The question tumbled over and over in my head; “What now?”

No matter how hard we tried to pretend that things were going to be just wonderful, Arnie and I both had some apprehension about the days, months and years ahead. Life with “just the two of us” would be quite different. We had some good discussions, and agreed that we would do everything within our power to enjoy the next chapter of our lives just as much as the first. That, we knew, would take some work. Thankfully, the two of us have many things in common, and had tried to nurture those along the way. Now it was time to determine how “full” our “empty nest” would be.

Which brings me to this blog. We are now a year into this season of life, and feel that we have a lot to share. The joys, the challenges, and the hope that we feel as we look to the future. So many of our friends are facing similar day-to-day situations as their children begin to move out. Maybe you are, too.

Let’s chat! Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and let’s help each other build a comfy new nest that will last a lifetime.