Reverse Nesting
You've heard of "nesting" done by pregnant women, but what about by new "empty nester" parents?
“One day, when my children are grown, I hope they still come through that front door without knocking. I hope they head to the kitchen for a snack and rifle through the mail looking for a magazine they always read. I hope they come in and feel the weight of adulthood leave them, for they are home. For my children, my door will forever be open. Above all else. I hope they know this without me telling them. Love speaks clearly enough.”
- Author Unknown
🪺 It’s not what I expected.
It’s been quite a week.
🪹
In fact, it’s been quite a month if you really want to get down to it.
My husband and I are officially empty nesters.
The build-up for changing statuses was quite a “thing”.
Holy moly.
It was quite emotional for this mom. (I cannot lie, there were a lot of tears).
I referred to them (the tears) as moments. And they came on randomly.
A moment, A tear or two, A tissue, then back to life.
❤️
It sounds silly, but although we knew Tyler’s move-out date was coming,
and our daughter’s had happened a few months before,
I thought I had all this time.
⏰
I thought I’d have time that I could grab extra hugs
or watch a TV show with him,
or share a meal…
But then Dave and I both got Covid.
(Sigh).
😔
And honestly, I felt cheated!
How could we avoid that darn virus for over two years,
and then it decides to arrive while I’m supposed to be having
time with my son!?
I was not happy.
Examples of a few of my moments:
➡️ Dave asked me why I was buying
4 packages of Goldfish when Tyler was moving soon.
(I replied with tears in the grocery store).
➡️ Seeing the candlestick Tyler made me in junior high school
was too hard to look at one day, so I had to move it to another room.
(I couldn’t look at it without crying).
➡️ I saw “Marco”, his favorite stuffed animal, irreverently tossed upside down
into a random packing box. (How could he breathe like that?)
This resulted in me discreetly rescuing the dog and adding him to the cozy
place where DESTINY’s favorite stuffed dog now resides.
(After a few tears, and I did it without telling Tyler I had “stolen” Marcus).
I can smile and accept it all now and even give myself a little hug,
or a pat on the back, because guess what?
I SURVIVED!
Holy heck!
I can barely believe it myself.
I am one emotional and sentimental gal. Sheesh. (Can you identify?)
Something unexpected happened. ❤️🩹
I thought I “might” be the mom who’d sneak into the kids’ rooms
and want to throw myself on the bed after they left (face down, of course)
and sob for a few.
😂
But something unexpected happened, which we are calling “Reverse nesting”.
🪺
Nesting is normally a term used for pregnant women.
In their last trimester, they suddenly get a boost of energy and an urge to get
everything organized, clean, and “perfect” for the baby’s arrival.
🪹
Well…
Surprisingly, my husband and I wasted no time jumping into
Reversing the nesting tradition!
haha!!
(High five, “Babe”!)
It’s been quite nice spending time together organizing things again.
And… (don’t tell Tyler but) we took over his closet within about a day!
👔
It feels good to laugh at the whole thing now.
And I know I’ll still have my moments.
(For example, Ty turned 21 just days after he moved out).
😔 (gulp)
But I’m good! And Dave’s good. And our kids are good.
And we’re getting organized as heck!
😊
Life is evolving as it’s supposed to…
It just wasn’t fun preparing for this part.
❤️
Wishing you a lovely day today!
☀️
If you relate to today’s message, please comment and let me know!
(You know I love stories).
❤️ Kim
Originally written for my Kimberly’s Joy email list on July 10, 2022 - just a few days after my son’s 21st birthday - and his first one out of the nest!
.