Empty Nest Thoughts
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”- Galatians 3:26-28
**
It was a good day today. I finally cleaned up our bedroom which had been filled with crates of family momentos that have been stationed there since last fall. For some strange reason last fall I decided to clean out the attic for the first time in 15 years. There was an incredible amount of stuff in there, most of which I didn't know what to do with but I didn't want it back up in the attic. Hence, it sat in the bedroom until after the holidays.
Looking at the mess for four months was getting to me. Even though I really hate to clean and sort, I knew the mess could not sit there any longer. Plus, I needed a break from the book I’m writing. So I set aside a few hours and set to work.
The stuff was mostly a combination of photos of our family and items my kids have made over the years, none of which I can throw away. I’m not a scrapbooker, just a sentimentalist, so most of the stuff went back into containers which will go back into the attic. But I did get rid of a considerable amount of stuff, so it was a good feeling to be able to see the floor of the attic and know what was in each box up there—not junk, but stuff I’ll again deal with at a later date.
As we are empty nesters now and two of our kids live across the country, it was sometimes painful to look at the items, as it brought back a lot of memories and made me miss them. They’ve only been gone a couple of weeks and it will be months before we see them again.
But they’re doing well so that’s what’s important. This may be a downer to read, but it is a part of mothering that’s real. I’m learning we don't stop mothering just because the kids are over 18 and out of the house. We help our kids by listening to them make decisions about their lives, sending notes to cheer them and let them know they're not forgotten, and keep them informed about hometown news.
How do you deal with your empty nest? Do you have hints of things to do to mother adult single children?
**
It was a good day today. I finally cleaned up our bedroom which had been filled with crates of family momentos that have been stationed there since last fall. For some strange reason last fall I decided to clean out the attic for the first time in 15 years. There was an incredible amount of stuff in there, most of which I didn't know what to do with but I didn't want it back up in the attic. Hence, it sat in the bedroom until after the holidays.
Looking at the mess for four months was getting to me. Even though I really hate to clean and sort, I knew the mess could not sit there any longer. Plus, I needed a break from the book I’m writing. So I set aside a few hours and set to work.
The stuff was mostly a combination of photos of our family and items my kids have made over the years, none of which I can throw away. I’m not a scrapbooker, just a sentimentalist, so most of the stuff went back into containers which will go back into the attic. But I did get rid of a considerable amount of stuff, so it was a good feeling to be able to see the floor of the attic and know what was in each box up there—not junk, but stuff I’ll again deal with at a later date.
As we are empty nesters now and two of our kids live across the country, it was sometimes painful to look at the items, as it brought back a lot of memories and made me miss them. They’ve only been gone a couple of weeks and it will be months before we see them again.
But they’re doing well so that’s what’s important. This may be a downer to read, but it is a part of mothering that’s real. I’m learning we don't stop mothering just because the kids are over 18 and out of the house. We help our kids by listening to them make decisions about their lives, sending notes to cheer them and let them know they're not forgotten, and keep them informed about hometown news.
How do you deal with your empty nest? Do you have hints of things to do to mother adult single children?
posted by Kayleen | 3:30 PM
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