From Mom to Me Again: How I Survived My First Empty-Nest Year and Reinvented the Rest of My Life (Self-Help Book for Moms on Finding Your Purpose After Your Kids Leave the House)

by Melissa Shultz

But I’m only human and therefore subject to feelings that have nothing at all to do with logic.

They’re going to make their own mistakes, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

“Please do think ahead—use that prefrontal cortex of yours to pause and consider the consequences of what you’re about to do. But also please know it’s possible to overthink, to talk your way out of adventure, friendships, and a career you may have never considered, because in the constant analysis, fear can rear its ugly head and stop you—cold.”

When your kids move away, you mourn the loss of those traditions and the intimacy of your family unit. The world you created for them, took pride and comfort in, has ended.

I will remember to give myself permission to do things that have nothing to do with being a mom and everything to do with me rediscovering how to be me. And I will learn to be okay with that even if it makes me feel totally weird and want to LOL. I will.

“It was an adventure we shared right up to the moment it was clear that my part of the adventure stopped and theirs kept going.

When both the kids left, it really did feel as if there had been some kind of a death in the family.