Feeling stuck, that is what she shared with me. I just don’t know how to get my day going and be happy with all these changes I am now living. I don’t know what to do. My possible help is to remind you to try something. You get to change your mind. Now read on:
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This weekend kids are packing up and heading to college. Parents are shocked at the gut pain they are feeling, hugging goodbye. The “ugly cry” visits them at unpredictable times, like while marketing. Goodbye drops them into the reality that their parenting role will never be as it was before. They are kicked out of
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In our group we did a quick write, “What imprint did you make so far on your children?” 1. Be kind2. Ask for help3. Say what you mean.4. Try again.5. Clean up or else….6. I nag because I don’t know what else to do 7. Text me when you get there8. Is this outfit cute
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Parents are sharing stories with me about this big change, empty nest. They always wanted quiet time, time for self, but today, it is too quiet and too much free time. One dad said he feels like his house is lifting off the ground to the sky and he wants his kids back home. He
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Parents were talking about back to school and we listed what we would want to learn if we went back: 1. Not the list of Presidents2. How to build bonfires on the beach3. Another language4. How to say what I want in the moment5. Saving money6. Going to a party even if you are scared7. Spiritual practices8. Letting go instead of staying too
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When she sat on the sofa in the brightly lit living room, she looked around, and it seemed she was visually gathering. Then she settled in sharing, “I am so glad to be here. I just need to open up and I don’t very often.” Her life had celebrations and disappointments, usually in relationships that
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They carved one heart in their yard tree, long ago. Last night she wept beside the marking, showing what was and what won’t be. She tried to be happy that she lived with such love but that was her head happy. Her heart is torn. Permanence is fantasy. Love is a delicious seducer of forever.
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Back to school has begun or is around the corner. For some parents it is the first time being an empty nester and for others, it continues to drop tears. How can you not weep when you love someone and know you won’t see them for a while? What did you think
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In our parent group, I suggested each share what they will miss and what they look forward to when they aren’t parents every day. I suggested they remember to allow different parts of them to speak, the confident one, the brave one, the sad one, the freedom one, etc. We forget we have so many
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A mother called in a panic that she had a fight with her son and he walked out, slamming the door. He leaves in three weeks for college. She feels he has already left. She wept. You will make mistakes in parenting. Sooner than later, both will feel better with a real apology. Not the
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My friend is attached to her phone waiting for that happy call from her daughter, “Mom, get here. Baby is on the way.” First time grandmother is feeling life couldn’t be any happier for her entire family. She adores her daughter and son in law. She is canceling what she can to be available
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A family shared with me that more than anything, they appreciate their freedom. Each night they light a candle, all eight of the family members and say, “THANK YOU THAT WE ARE TOGETHER. THANK YOU THAT WE ARE FREE.” They have been wounded, lost, hungry, alone, separated, and terrified. Yes, they have days where they
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Natalie Caine, M.A. natalie@lifeintransition.org