Empty Nesting

Our youngest son has just left home. My wife and I feeling the empty nest. Its so quiet. Nice.

We have one son in the USA soon to be living and working on Hamilton island, one son living locally and our youngest is now living and working at Uluru, central Australia.

At 51, I am enjoying the prospect of being just a couple again.

As a dad its great to see your children find their way in life with a number of stops and starts along the way. Oh and did I mention bruises?

As dads we often wish our kids would make different decisions than they do. However as individuals they have to develop their own independence even if it means getting hurt along the way.

If you have ever seen a butterfly trying to break free from its cocoon it could be tempting to help them as it looks like such a struggle for them. This is the worst thing we could do for them. They need the struggle to strengthen their wings in order to fly.

How similar is that to life for our kids. We want sometimes to make their decisions for them or suggest what action they should take. They grow strong through trials just as we have had to.

Finding independence is like finding wings. Free to fly and enjoy what life has to offer.

Its a different world than even one generation ago. The world has opened up and there are so many opportunities available.

Whilst we get used to our new empty nest we will enjoy seeing our boys build their lives in this bug wide world of ours.

Would you like to add any wisdom to that from your experience? Simply write your comments and once screened by me I will share them.

PS I have a pop top caravan for sale if anyone is looking to buy one. see Facebook pages for details.