I’ve been trying to schedule lunch with a couple of my friends who are also empty nesters. You’d think it would be a breeze.
It’s not.
We’re all insanely busy.
What in the world is that about?
I thought as I moved into this season of life that things would slow down. After all, there were no more school calendars to contend with. No more school events or ball games. No one else in the house to schedule around. I imagined myself with so much free time that I wouldn’t know what to do with myself!
Hasn’t happened.
Why? Several reasons, I think.
- One is simply the pace of life at which we live these days. Doesn’t matter if there is one person in the house or ten, life just moves at a faster pace than ever before.
- Another is that the vacuum of time left by the departure of children from daily life is quickly filled with work. Doesn’t matter whose work. Mine. My husband’s. Our professions or work around the house. It simply fills in the space before you have a chance to realize it!
- Finally, even though the children are “gone,” your life still tends to revolve around them, especially while they are still in college and getting settled in life. Phone calls about how to do things or what to do about things. Trips to see them where they live now. Sunday afternoon video chats just to catch up on life. Extended visits on school vacations. The children are gone, but they are not gone. Not completely. Not yet.
And so we teeter here in empty nest land, wondering where we lost the time we had been giddy to gain back. This wasn’t how I expected an empty nest to feel, but there it is. Consider yourself forewarned!