The Empty Nest and the Sandwich Generation
For those of you in the Sandwich Generation, there are lots of circumstances that lead to an empty nest - your growing children moving to college, moving away to take a job or moving into marriage or a committed life with a partner. And any of these situations may require major role shifts for all the family.
Watch the video below about a transition that unfortunately resulted in problems for everyone. But if you read the August blog posts we suggest, you'll see that that there are solutions.
Accept your ambivalence about the empty nest. Discuss your situation with friends who care about what you're going through. You'll discover that you have a lot in common and that they feel the same about their own experiences. That can be validating and comforting. Practice letting go. Try to visualize one door closing and another door opening.
Clicking on the title of this post will take you to HerMentorCenter.com and an article about what you can learn from President Obama's Mother-in-law. Then, at the top lefthand corner of that article, you'll see "Return to Home Page." Click on that and then on Newsletter Library and Nourishing Relationships for more tips about adapting to other role changes.
Labels: aging parents, empty nest, friendships, growing children, letting go, mother-in-law, President obama, role changes, the Sandwich Generation, Today Show
posted by Nourishing Relationships @ 9:51 PM
1 Comments:
I am a full believer that the better way to avoid the problems of empty nest syndrome is balance.
Your entire life cannot be the kids. Throughout the child rearing days a portion of your time and mind should go to continuing to build the relationship with your spouse. Another important portion of your time and mind should go to nurturing yourself. Doing things you love to do.
When the kids are gone you have more time to dedicate to both of these. There is always a sense of loss, but there is something there to fill the void.
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