The Baby Birds Have Flown.... We Are Left With an Empty Nest

Well, this blog post has nothing to do with business OR photography for that matter. This one is more of a personal post.

I have done a lot of thinking and contemplating over the last few months as the day drew nearer.

Now I have heard the words thrown around countless times by various people and have heard many talk about it but until it comes your time as a parent, the words “Empty Nester” don’t really register in your mind or thought process. Well, on August 31st that day arrived for my wife and I. Let me tell you, it’s one of the weirdest feelings ever. Especially when you are so used to having 2 kids around, playing, fighting, arguing and just general noise makers. Both of our girls have now flown the next, the oldest one about a year ago and our youngest just last month.

One lives 2 hours west of us and the other lives 3 hours east of us. Could they be any further apart? Of course they had to go in opposite directions, lol As parents I think we all have moments of excitement as our children get into their mid- to late teens and we think about finally having the house to ourselves. But as that day begins to draw near, reality and dread kind of sets in and your realize….wait a minute, these little humans you have spent your life, teaching, nurturing and raising aren’t going to be here anymore. They aren’t going to “need” or depend on you anymore or at least not as much.

Now I know they never stop being your kids, no matter how old they get but it’s not the same, you cannot protect them in the same you could, when they were living under your roof. I guess at some point you just have to let go and let them move onto that next chapter of “their” lives and venture out into that big world, just as we did at their age. It’s a very very odd feeling to not have them here in the house when you come home from your day or to see them come in through the door after an evening out with their friends or after their shift from work, whatever the case might be.

It certainly is going to take some getting used to that’s for sure! They never stop being your children. They are just a bigger/older version of that. I guess we have to look at as not only a new chapter in their lives but also a new chapter in our lives. Now is our time. With more available time my wife and I can finally focus on the things we have always wanted to do and experience together.

Time to start enjoying each other and living more grand!!!!