The beginning of the end was near for me (referring to the end of my children’s childhood). That opened the door to a new chapter called “empty nest,” a chapter that I had long dreaded.
Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelospeople who have three children nearly the same age as mine, recently shared how they handle the empty nest chapter in their lives, and I’ll take notes from them.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos opened up about how they felt when the nest was empty
I think ALL parents feel the transition from childhood to adulthood in some way. Emotions often prevail when such a big change is about to happen, and I fully understand that now as I get closer and closer to that new chapter.
My kids are 20, 18 and 17, so the knock on this new chapter is getting louder and louder. My 20 year old is ready to fly and leave the nest in July. He’s moving to Florida, and while I’m happy for him and proud of the maturity he’s grown into, I’m sad for me and his brothers, who now have to reinvent the home. dynamic.
For Ripa and Consuelos, whose kids are now out of the house, had a “now what” moment. “It is very deep. It was like a loss,” Consuelos said EVERYBODY.
“When Joaquin is gone [for the University of Michigan]it was hard, both of us and the dogs were staring at each other, like, ‘Well, now what?’” Ripa added.
With all three of their children, Michael, 25, Lola, 21, and Joaquin, 20, they need to adjust.
“I’m not kidding, the first dinner I cooked for 12 people and just the two of us. We sat there with this excessive amount of food, none of us were hungry,” said Ripa. “We are empty nesters, oh no, what shall we discuss?”
Ripa said the first 48 hours were “desperate” but they quickly became “positive”. Simply put, “We got through it,” says Ripa.
People say that the new chapter brings a new sense of freedom
Whenever I talk to anyone who has gone through the big change of kids leaving home to start adult life, they tell me it’s been amazing and there’s a sense of freedom. New is waiting for me. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve heard that, I still don’t buy the great part of that, but guess it will take a while to get used to.
The co-hosts of “Living with Kelly and Mark” took advantage of their childless days by going on vacation with a different mindset than before.
“We went to the beach and we saw the sunset and we were like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,'” Consuelos said. Ripa added: “We eat when we want to, not when the kids want to. We hiked, we hiked – it was scary, but we did it.”
One thing that Ripa said really impressed me. She said that two weeks before her youngest child moved out, the two oldest had returned home and all three slept in the same room.
“They make me redo things from when they were little, like I used to put them in bed, kiss them and say, ‘Okay, that’s it, good night,’” she said. “And then I would go back to the room and they would scream and laugh.”
Consuelos added, “They came into our room and took old home movie DVDs and we watched as a family.”
As a mother whose nest is almost empty, I am taking notes…
Just last weekend, my middle son, Ryder, pulled old photo albums out of a drawer and started traveling back up the memories that carried the rest of us. I feel like there are many more days to come when my son, JD, is ready to move to Florida.
I will take notes from Ripa And Consuelos and suggested that we recreate some of the fun things we did when they were kids and see how long we could keep those memories alive before moving on to a new chapter. And if I’m lucky, one day I too will be able to say “I got over it”.
Are you an empty nester with a tip to share? Or are you in the same boat as me as you’re getting ready for some big life changes with your kids? If so, send me a direct message on Instagram and tell me what got you through the tough days.
