All Grown Up: Empty-Nesting

I'm entering the empty nesting stage, and what a doozy... Both amazing but also grieving for what you held so dear for so long.  What was your forever really, changed and evolved. You are not needed near as often, there's no more shoes piled up at the door, no sound of little feet running (or in my case, balls being bounced all over the house) and no more hustling from school to a game. So what would I say to someone who hasn't yet entered this stage? Would I do anything differently? Perhaps. Though, it's really important to embrace all stages of motherhood I also understand that when you're in each one, it always feels daunting and exhausting so I want to give space to that as well. It's not easy to look into the future and appreciate the present more. But, that's the thing. If there is one thing I would recommend it would be to live in the present. Spent less time distracted. That's a big one. When my kids were young we hadn't yet become so addicted to our devices and so it made family dinners, movie nights and hikes a lot easier to connect over. Make enough time for silliness and new things.  

Rediscovering Myself 

Perhaps the previous paragraph felt a bit sad... but it's really not. Watching your kids grow up and leave is the goal, right? While there are definitely real symptoms of empty nest syndrome and those feelings of sadness can be very real and deep, I think it's important to remember that our new role isn't a bad one. We've done a good thing. And with grace we can go back to having an independent life and being a different kind of parent to our adult kids. I'm finding there's so much left to experience, to find out about myself, new challenges and its such a fun journey if I let it. 

When my youngest son left home, I sat down and quite literally wrote down all the things I'm good at (and bad at!) that I want to continue to learn. I slowly learned how to put myself first again and photography was always that for me. It was mine and even when I had little time raising the boys, I was never without a camera. This resdiscovery has been incredibly therapeutic for me. I can't tell you the happiness I feel when I'm doing what I love. I'm also very lucky to still be madly in love with my husband. And when you enter this stage of life with a supportive partner, it makes that difficult time a little bit easier. We still have a lot in common - travel, outdoor adventures, cooking, wine tasting... And we genuinely enjoy each other's company. 

New Possibilities And Beautiful Memories 

I recently fell and broke my ankle, a week before I was supposed to start on my NC year of the trail project.  My oldest had two weeks before he was starting his new job, so he drove and off we went to the OBX.  It truly didn't matter if anything turned out from the trip, we had priceless quality time together.

On our last evening we were driving back to our hotel from Duck, trying to find a place to capture the sunset. We see this beautiful opening up ahead, pull into and are blessed with the most amazing soft sunset. I'm more of a Sunrise girl, representing new beginnings, growth, hope and possibilities. Lean into the connections around you, how the light touches the water changing its hue, the clouds seeming to fuse with the horizon. I want to always capture a places essence, it's story. My film scans came in and what came out instead was a combination of the Outer Banks and my story, maybe even your story.  We have to remember, it's never too late and you are NOT too old, think of this time as a new beginning... A new chapter in your story. Chase that dream, settle into this time of rest, reset and reawakening. 

I'm finding my new path just as my two boys are, it's connected us somehow. We're both still very much discovering. I'm embracing the new freedom, this new side of our relationship, watching them grow into amazing young men and relearning how to be with my own things. 

Big Hugs,

Lissa