What if you looked at the empty-nest as the stage you got upgraded to because you graduated from being a full-time mom?

Why is this new perspective useful?

Because understanding that you are here because you did a great job as a parent, will help you stand a bit taller. And realizing that your children were able to fly off the nest because you gave them the wings they needed to start living independently, will give you the confidence you need to live this new stage more fully.

Let me back up a few decades…

Do you remember the feeling you had when you transitioned from Elementary School to Middle School or High School?

I do!

I still remember how scared and small I felt when I moved from the Nursery School’s little playground to the huge Elementary School one! For the first few months I was so afraid of getting lost or being bullied, that I spent the entire recess time standing right next to the tree where we lined up to go back inside. On special days, my older brother would stop playing with his friends to walk me around the playground. And oh my God, how I wanted to be like him…

But as the years went by, I found a peer group, I felt increasingly more confident and, by the 6th grade, my girlfriends and I were the queens of the playground! We hung out in the cool corner, and felt like we were on top of the world!

Little did we know that the next year we would be at the bottom of the food chain all over again, feeling small and insignificant around the cool older High School kids! These kids didn’t jump rope or play games, they just stood there and talked…

So, without knowing the new rules, during recess time we nervously looked for each other in the sea of taller, more developed teenagers. But that wouldn’t last long! A few years later, my girlfriends and I were the school’s trendsetters, rolling up our uniform skirts to show off our legs, empowered and confident all over again!

Does this sound familiar?

Let’s think about this. If every time you successfully completed a stage in your life, you went from feeling accomplished and powerful to feeling small, insecure and sometimes insignificant, but only until you found your footing again, why would this stage be any different?

Looking back, can you see that you never went backwards? That those uncomfortable feelings, the fear and doubts were just growing pains? A true testament to the fact that you were now playing a bigger game, outside of your comfort zone? That you just needed to learn new skills and learn to adapt to your new environment?

So now, a few decades later, you find yourself graduating from being a full-time mom. And as you explore your new reality, you feel insecure, a bit lost and confused all over again…

All I want is for you to remember that what you’re feeling right now, are just growing pains. I want you to rest assured that you’re not going backwards and that you have what it takes to thrive again. That it is your time to shine in a whole new way. That the world needs you. That you matter. That you’re not alone!

And never, ever underestimate the power of a peer group or community to grow with. It will make all the difference in the world, the same way it did in the past!

If you want to join a community of empty-nest moms, join my private Facebook group.

I can’t wait to hear from you!