The other day, Deanna was looking on Facebook and saw a woman who was about to become an empty nester asking for some advice. Deanna saw that her friend Susan gave a great response, so she’s been invited onto the podcast for today’s episode.
Susan starts sharing her beliefs by stating that we must deal with empty nesting carefully. Our kids are watching how we handle things, and we are their number-one role model. If you are facing the empty nest days with sadness and anxiety, there’s a good chance that your child will feel the same way. Susan then explains that feeling some sadness at the beginning is completely normal.
Deanna strongly promotes preparing for the empty nest by picking up some interests so that your identity isn’t tied only to parenthood. It’s important to feel like you have strengths and contribute to the world aside from being a mother.
A discussion starts about what our children learn about people when they move on to college, which causes the ladies to talk about helicopter parenting. Susan stresses the importance of teaching kids how to decide things for themselves and be comfortable in their own skin. We then get some advice on how to achieve this through having meaningful conversations.
Young people are more likely to change careers paths now than they used to be, and that’s something Susan used to be weary of but now supports. She talks about why her mind has been changed, while Deanna brings up a story about when her son decided that he needed to change careers. Ending the show, the two talk about their love of having an empty nest.
