Who will listen? Great question. ANd who will care for us if we need it?

Hello Ladies!

This 'empty nest' has been a rude awakening for me. Suddenly, my house is totally empty of all the chitter chatter of my last one to fly out of the nest and all of the friends and phone calls associated with her. There can be days that I'm home alone and have even wondered that dreadful, 'what if something happens to me?'.

That lead me to thinking about the elderly and how they must feel. They have so much to say is how I've justified my 'selfish gain' as Downdog puts it, LOL. I really wouldn't mind teaching a computer class or something or another at a senior living center. Could benefit both of us...Yeah? Learn how to quilt while listening to some great stories?

I have a 97 year old aunt that is very sharp and such a pleasure to talk to. If/when we visit with her (La) she will cook a multi-course meal after picking fresh fruit/veggies from her garden. If we want fish, she puts her gear on and takes us fishing! WOW! All she wants to do is feed food to our bellies and thoughts. She can actually remember my first words and I'm 42!

HEy sugaree, glad to hear you survived your first year of the empty nest. How did your daughter do at school this year? Did you do anything differently to survive your first year of living alone?

Hello there! Yes. I did do some different things to help with my empty nest syndrome. Most of the time these things worked. First of all, I thanked God for guiding me the hard long path of getting my children off successfully. Since I have such a torrid background, those were my specific prayers and they were answered.

The types of things that I did most were reflect, talked to friends to help them through and made healthy dinners for one or two. Since my serving portions were much smaller, I was able to try out recipes I'd always wanted to but found too expensive.

I got alot of reading in but not much reading for pure pleasure. I read the 'how to's' and the motivational types of articles/books. Basically, I just did things that I never found time to do for me while concentrating on my children.

Thanks for asking!

Sugaree, Is shehome now?

I will definitely cook differently too. We'll eat much simpler meals when the kids are gone. Probably eat out too. We've gotten to the point where we sometimes split meals when we eat out. Ah geez. Is that a sign of getting old?

Sugaree, I just wanted to say it's nice to see you back. I missed you.
chick

Hi ya girlfriend, welcome back sugaree. When my empty nest started getting me down I would go to the senior center and see all those people unable to live on their own and enjoy their lives to the fullest. That would get my butt moving and make me appreciate the fact I am healthy and so are my kids and we all can enjoy this time in our lives....it works too!

Hi Chick and Chatty! I've surely missed this cyber joy station too, especially you all and some.

Dotsie, she is home now. She wanted to attend summer sessions but $$ wouldn't allow that. She is sooo different. She has always been a speaker but is really maturing her so that she speaks without too much smiling and girliness (new word?). I would imagine since her major is Broadcast Journalism that she has plenty classess to develop those speaking skill. She's the VP at SIFE and her team won the nationals where she spoke in front of many thousands. She said that was the most challenging of all. (duhh, LOL).

Have your girls decided their majors?

Hello this is such a great site to have discovered, but I feel like I am eavesdropping. I work full time, have four teenagers and my Mum comes and does my washing and ironing for me everyday. She used to live with us but we bought her a unit. Mum says that being here for my kids and helping me gives her joy. And I believe her, not just because it suits me, but because I honestly would have no time to relax without her help. And the kids have someone at home in the afternoons. Mind you, she spoils them rotten and there are some downsides, hence her unit, but the upsides outweigh the downsides! I think 'using' our parents to help with the kids is a great way to keep the family unit together and to give our parents a sense of purpose and my mum uses the word usefulness. Mum divorced years ago and has been on her 'own' ever since. She feels secure and happy now. She tells me this is the happiest she has ever been. I often think that combining childcare centers and nursing homes would be a super idea, give the old a purpose and the young exposure to the elderly. And as Sugaree says the elderly have a lot of wisdom to pass down. My eldest is nearly 20 so the empty nest is also looming for me, but i am considering going back to Uni to do a degree in accounting, I reckon I still have a good 20 working years left in me!!
Thankyou for the honour of being part of this chat.

Deb, you are so blessed to have such a pleasant situation with your mom. I couldn't agree more with your statement about combining the young and the old. It's a win/win situation.

As far as the empty nest goes - my youngest is at the beach this week so I am getting a taste of what it will be like in the fall. I don't lile it. I miss him. He's such a joy to have around the house. He's very easy going, very much like his dad. I know I'll survie, but it ain't going to be easy becasue my daughter will be leaving too.

Our home has been like Grand Central with the kids growing up and having friends in and out. I know I will miss the activity. My daughter's friend went home last night after camping out here since graduation. Neither of them had to work becasue they took some days off after they graduated so they've done nothing but walk, watch movies, shop, eat and have fun. My oldest son had three kids here last night to watch some game on TV.

All of this will come to a screeching halt in September. HELP!