Making the Most of your Empty Nest Years

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Carla Lopez is back with another seniorpreneur article for our readers who are sending the kids off to college here soon and are ready for the next phase of their lives.

Making the Most of Your Empty Nest Years

The “empty nest” that occurs when your children move out or go to college can be a shock, even though you know it’s coming. It can feel like a time of loss or uncertainty, particularly if your identity is heavily invested in parenting. Although this transition to the next phase of your life may feel challenging, The Cameron Journal explains that it can also be a time of growth and exploration.

View It as an Opportunity

Parenting requires a lot of time, focus, and energy. Once your offspring are grown, Grown and Flown notes that you’ll have more of the day for yourself. Now is an excellent time to return to the hobby you put aside when your kids were born. Or, if you’ve wanted to try something different, it’s a great opportunity to take a class or join a club focused on orienteering, sewing, martial arts, calligraphy, or whatever sparks your interest. 

You might decide that you’re eager to start your own garden in a window box, a larger container, or the backyard. Gardening is a great way to get exercise, spend time outdoors, and connect with nature–all likely to boost your mood and well-being according to Insteading. Volunteering for an organization or cause dear to your heart can be a way to add purpose and joy to your day. Once the kids aren’t under your roof, you’ll have more time to socialize, reconnect with old friends, and make new ones. Consider trying a meet-up group.

Hit the Road

Now might be the perfect time to travel. You could start with small local trips to nearby historic sites you’ve been curious about. If you enjoy being on the road, plan a longer trip. Consider visiting some state or national parks. If there are places you’ve always wanted to visit, do some research on possibilities as well as costs. 

For example, many people decide not to visit Disney World due to costs, time constraints, and other obligations with their children. But if you’ve been curious and wished you could go, then check out Mouse Life Today to see if the DVC (Disney Vacation Club) is right for you. They can help you find discounts and make the trip more manageable. 

Declutter and Organize Your Home

This may be something you’ve wanted to do and delayed because, well, kids can create chaos. Now that you aren’t on duty as chauffeur, cook, nurse, laundress, and coach for the young ones, you may find you’re more able to focus on the task of putting things away. If you feel overwhelmed by paperwork, consider digitizing all those documents. There will be less clutter on your desk, and you’ll still have the needed copies. 

You can put everything in one big PDF, which can later be split into smaller files using a PDF splitter tool, which is free online. After separating the files into smaller groups, you can name and sort the files by subject, making them easy to find. 

Go Back to School

You may find that you’re longing to return to school yourself. Whether you want credentials to advance your career or simply want to learn about a subject, online degree programs make it more possible than ever to pursue additional knowledge. This is especially true if you’re tech savvy. For example, this may help when you consider that an IT certification could offer a background in networking, cloud administration, and IT security. This is a good direction to take if you’ve wanted to expand your knowledge in these areas. Once you no longer have to think about your child’s schoolwork, your own studies can expand.

All life transitions can be challenging, and the empty nest situation is no different. Your offspring may no longer need you in their lives as much as they used to, but your life still has meaning, and this freed-up time can open up many opportunities that had to be put aside when you were overwhelmed with parenting responsibilities. 

Whether you decide to return to school, travel, volunteer, renovate your home or start a new hobby, this is a wonderful time to develop some of the aspects of your life that have been on hold for a while now. Start small, and expand according to how rewarding the activities feel.