We all hate it when a parent always says, “Oh, wait until…” when raising their children. People who “just wait” are actually the worst. When your kid has a meltdown at Target and the older empty nester looks at you, throws the snack to the floor, kicks you in the crotch, and says, “Cherish now!” Before you know it, They will get huge!
While we want to wish the worst for those who don’t give a damn about their business, doesn’t that make sense? I always look back at my daughter’s photos and videos but can’t believe She used to be so small and cute. It does go by quickly. As they say, the days are long and the years are short!
One empty-nest dad took to TikTok to share how quickly raising kids can come, as he perused the grocery store and realized he no longer needed the items he once had now that his kids had grown up and left home. “
“I’m at my local supermarket, and we dropped our son off at college a few days ago. Here I am, and I have something like this,” Jeff Pillman says in his video, as the camera pans to some grocery store pumpkins.
“I used to pick out pumpkins with my kids. Here I am, and I see mom and dad with their kids in the shopping cart, and it used to be me and my kids in the shopping cart. It really hit me, that it was It hit me hard because the house was empty and there were little things you take for granted as a parent, taking your kids to the supermarket.
He’s fully aware that taking kids to the supermarket can be stressful when you’re in a difficult situation, but now that Pillman was wandering the aisles alone, he wanted his kids to be with him.
He continued: “Maybe it seems painful at the moment. You’d rather leave them at home or somewhere else. But now I’m in the supermarket alone. There’s not actually that much to buy because I don’t have two in the house anymore. A kid, no more kids, and I’m looking for Halloween candy, but they won’t care.
“It just changes everything. It’s an adjustment. I just want to say, to you, you’re at home with your kids, please appreciate them and understand that everything goes by very quickly.
Pillman said in a text overlay on the video that he suffers from the “empty nester blues” and it’s real!
The Mayo Clinic says research shows this transition to vacant homes can be overwhelming, leaving some parents with a sense of loss and making them susceptible to depression, anxiety, alcoholism, identity crises and even some stress for their parents. or current relationship.
This is called empty nest syndrome or the “empty nest blues.”
“For parents who have an only child or a youngest child, an empty nest awaits them when they return home,” said Marshall P. Duke, a Ph.D. professor of psychology at Emory University.
“I tell empty nesters, it’s going to take a few years to adjust. It will. But it’s not all bad, or even mostly bad. It’s really an exciting time.
For empty nesters who are struggling with the transition, there are some helpful ways to stay sane and learn to embrace this new chapter in your life.
First, prepare for the transition. Don’t let it catch you off guard. Prepare yourself mentally for the change. Organizational transition can help relieve some of the stress. Secondly, this new chapter is an opportunity to get busy! Try something new, find a new interest, or pick up something you’ve put aside for 18 years or more. This can be a huge time of exploration and acceptance.
