I'm standing in the grocery store parking lot crying. Not just crying, close to sobbing. This was my reaction after running into a friend who I hadn't seen in a while and she asked how I was doing. Clearly not very well! Both of my children had left for college and I was officially an "Empty Nester." Instead of feeling thrilled and excited, I felt empty.
I was going through the motions of getting out of bed, going to Pilates or for a run, and then sitting down at my desk and working. But by late afternoon, when my daughter would have been coming home from high school or getting ready to leave for work, or my son would have been stopping by my office to check on my day, the house was quiet and I was left wondering, what's next?
This parking lot encounter happened to take place the same week my husband was traveling for work and I was "alone" for the first time in over 20 years. I have worked from home since 2011, when my daughter was in first grade and my son in 4th. Along with running my company, Spellbound Vacations, LLC, I was a Girl Scout leader, a Cub Scout leader, a PTA member, an official "Cheerleading Mom," a taxi driver, and so much more whenever my children needed. But as they entered their Senior and Freshman years of college, I was left wondering what to do with all this "free" time.
I had dreamed for so long of the freedom to travel where and when I want to. But now that the time had come, it was strange. I always cherished the adult-only get-aways my husband and I would take once or twice a year. And now we had so much more freedom for those trips.
We have lived and loved the life of dedicated parents. We have shared that life with each other, our friends, our neighbors, our families, and of course, our amazing kids. We had dreamed of the empty nest days. We had dreamed of lazy weekends, road trips to not-so-far-away destinations, exploring the college towns our children would be in, an afternoon trip into NYC or a weekend get-away to a foreign city. We dreamed of traveling!
Fast forward a few years...
My son graduated from college, moved out, got married, and made me a grandmother to the most beautiful baby girl. My daughter graduated from nursing school at the University of Delaware and is now out in the world doing what she was born to do, caring for others. And me? I am living the fully Empty-Nest lifestyle, and I am loving it.
Travel has always been a passion of mine. First it was family travel to Walt Disney World every year, then family cruises on Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, or Norwegian Cruise Line. Or a beach vacation to Puerto Rico or Mexico. But now, my husband and I get to travel as a couple, and every so often, as grandparents too.
In these past few years I have traveled to Chile, France, South Africa, England, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Northern Ireland. Plus a few cruises and more than a few theme park visits! At many of these destinations my husband was able to join me.
Here's what I've learned on the other side of that parking lot breakdown: the empty nest isn't an ending, it's an invitation. It's permission to become someone new, not instead of the mother, wife, and mentor you've always been, but in addition to her. The years you spent showing up for everyone else built the very skills, the flexibility, the resourcefulness, the love of adventure, that can now take you anywhere you want to go.
So if you're feeling like I felt that day in the parking lot, if you're standing at the edge of this next chapter wondering what's next, let me tell you: what's next can be extraordinary. Your Bucket List destinations are still there, waiting. Your sense of wonder didn't leave with your kids, it's just been waiting for room to breathe again.
If it's time to start crossing your Empty-Nest dream destinations off your list, I want to help you get there. Because I don't just plan these trips, I go so you know.
We'll be living and loving, dreaming, going, traveling. Let's start planning your next adventure.