Finding The Joy In Becoming Empty Nesters

I had my first child just a couple of months after turning 18, and my second at age 20.  After I got remarried, my husband and I adopted a son (I was 32). Then after years of miscarriage and infertility, I got pregnant with my youngest daughter ( at age 35). 13 months later, we had a son (at age 36).   I am now 55 years old, and for the first time in my entire adult life, I’m about to be without children living at home. That’s over 37 years! 

One of the ways I have always dealt with the grief (and yes it is grief) of each of my babies leaving the nest, is to throw myself into one of the things that I enjoy most. DECORATING!

When the older kids moved out, we usually just played “musical rooms”. At one time all three of the younger kids were in one room, but as one child moved out, we’d move another child into that room. However, as the younger kids have started moving out, we’ve been left with rooms that do not necessarily need to function as bedrooms anymore. This leaves me with lots of options! 

I’ve made my daughter’s room a place to store all my crafts, but since the bed is built-in, I decided to leave it. It also gives us an extra bed for anyone spending the night. 

My youngest son just moved out a couple of weeks ago, so now I’m in the process of turning his room into a dressing closet. When it’s finished, I’ll finally be able to see all of my shoes! No more digging them out of boxes!!! I can’t wait!

More photos to come...