My friend Lambeth has named my malaise--I have empty nest syndrome, even though my nest is only empty about 6 hours a week. Of course, I recognized that I was at a loss without them but hadn't put that familiar name to it. "Empty nest" is something parents of college students experience as the parents exit the full-time parenting part of their lives. He's right, though. I have mini-empty nest.
Today's NYTimes has an article about parents experiencing college empty nest, but many of the themes hit home. One woman comments, " I’m terribly lonely and a little bit cranky . . . . I’ve been pouring so much love and attention into the boys for so long, it just feels horrible not to have somebody to pour out love on anymore.” That's not exactly my case, but for three years, my day-to-day-world--previously filled with Mama, cat, career, grad school--was the kiddos.
I think I'm coping okay now. The article mentions that planning is key. Having passed the first day of preschool and moving into a rhythm, the plans I had made for my 6 hours are in effect (yep, I went to wellness workout this morning). And I'm sure pretty soon I'll be longing for 3 days a week or even full day school--or, dare I say it, college--to come. I just better start working on my plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment