For years you knew the time was coming when all of your children or your child would be leaving home. You knew that your child(ren) would be moving on. You thought about having a clean house, full refrigerator and quiet. So now it is here. Are you wondering why you are feeling so odd? Are you feeling lost and confused? These feelings are not unrealistic. You have spent many years growing your child and now he or she are at the point in their life when they are moving on either to work or college.
So now what is in store for you? You will not be a parent in the same way. Your child may come back to live at your house at some point but they now they will have to be responsible for their choices and the way they live their lives.
On some level your work is done in that particular way of being responsible for the life and choices of your child. Now your feelings may be huge. You may be wondering , who am I now that I am not actively parenting, what is next? What should I be doing?
This time now is one of transition, from full-time parenting to full time being responsible just for yourself! It might take weeks, months even a year to adjust to your different life style.
The important thing is to understand that you are not alone, and that your feelings while unique to you are not that different from other parents going down the same path.
What are you going to do now? There will be more quiet and you will always be needed as a parent but not in that 24 hours a day kind of way.
This is now a time for you to explore what you want, relationships, work and dreams. Take your time, you grew a child now it is time to grow you.