How do you get over an empty nest syndrome?

Loes Knetsch ^©

6 kids and 36 years of caring career. And then, how to cope when your kids are adults and do not need your care so badly as they use to need you. They moved probably to another city. Or went to college. Perhaps they are backpacking somewhere at another continent. Whatever they are doing, they left you behind. You are fired, at least, it feels like you are fired. It is normal to feel overwhelmed and sad. A period is closing. And it wasn’t a small one. My oldest is becoming 39 and my youngest is almost 19 years of age. He is still at home but leads his own life now. We have an agreement that he will report whether he is sleeping and eating at home so that we can keep up with it. He keeps his own room clean and does his own laundry.

What are the symptoms from an empty nest syndrome?

What is an empty nest syndrome, and how do you cope with it?

Raising and guiding your children, from baby to adult, is a difficult but satisfying task for most people. One mother will put all her own wishes aside for the children, other mothers combine an “own” life with the lives of the children. No matter how you have taken up raising the children, mothers often have trouble with themselves, when the last child has left the house, the empty nest syndrome.

When the last child leaves home, an emptiness suddenly arises. Suddenly there is no child to look after and talk to. Especially if you don’t have a job, you can get the feeling that life has become useless. Women usually have more problems with this than men, but men can also experience problems with it.

The symptoms can vary from aimlessness, listlessness, to depression. Not knowing what to do with your time. The uncertainty for your own future can become overwhelming. There can arise tensions with your partner. And that can result in a feeling of loneliness and misunderstanding.

It’s time to take your life back!

Start a meaningful way to spend your day. Realizing that my life is going to change in about 2-3 years when my youngest will probably leave the nest, I searched for something of interest to fill my time with. And I found the perfect solution! I started creating websites!

Since July 2014, my first website is online! The website displays all kind of art from the children of my daycare, mostly made of out of garbage. This is kids art, that’s the name of my website, also gives household tips and tricks. The blog on it is with various topics. Parenting, kids toys (good and bad), Ways to run a household. And even charity topics.

Your child is moving out.

Your child is moving and so you have to move on too. You still be the mom, but your role has changed. Changed from caretaker into advisor. When your son or daughter is standing at a point of a big decision in their lives, they will come home to you for advice. Even for a little advice, the phone will ring. Mom, how did you make that sauce? Or how long do you cook the carrots? It feels nice to be “needed” for a little 🙂

My first baby “This is kids art” was born.

I felt I wasn’t finished yet, I have so much to tell the world. So I started the next website. This one. “Work at home, the future is yours”. On this website, I share everything I what have learned the last years about website development and design. I truly love to create animated images. I can spend hours online trying out design programs. And I made it a sport to collect free to use programs.

On this website, I have written quite some WordPress training for beginners.

What you can do in English, you can do in Dutch too

The little sister of this website is the Dutch version Thuiswerken, je toekomst / eigen site maken which means in English Work at home, the future is yours, make your own website.
Part of this website I have filled with topics about my volunteering job as a language coach for refugees. I stopped doing that, but I keep the pages alive to help others with their teaching job.

Still not ready

Years ago, I started to write Dutch spiritual children’s books, it was standing on the shelf, not doing anything but gathering dust. Now they are proudly presented on Kleurboekjes.com Coloring life has a translation button. The website is meant for parents, caretakers, and children.

I use this website partially for parenting advice but also use the blog space as a kick-a** for things that I don’t like and injustice and wrongdoing in the world.

Your child is moving towards his/her own life.

Don’t stop them, as you wouldn’t like it yourself when your parents had stopped you. Encourage them to stand on their own two feet instead. And refrain yourself from interfering. Buy yourself a webcam, if necessary, to be able to Skype.

The hobby of your partner

Whether he is the dad or the stepfather, his life will change too. And you don’t want to nag each other the whole day. Stimulate him towards his own interests. My partner is a hobby-photographer and loves to make bicycle rides, he has an e-bike now that makes his life so much easier. And I have made especially for him a website to display his pictures. The Free images website is the pride of my husband.

Besides the pictures of my husband, I also display pictures send to me from my online friend. There is a section on this website with pictures from all kind of countries. If you want to share your pictures with me, you are always welcome to send them to my email address. They must be copyright free and used freely by others.

Healthy online

I have always been interested in what food can do for the body. Which effect it has when you consume too much sugar. Or what results from a lack of healthy nutrition can cause. That’s what my 5th website is all about. Aloesvera.siterubix.com. It’s obvious that this website is dedicated to Aloë Vera and other superfoods.

On this website, I share my knowledge about healthy and natural products. This website is in Dutch, but with the amazing translators we have today, you can easily translate it into your own language.

Find interests of your own

You have a wealth of information gathered during your caretaking. From baby clothes to heavy metal and from childhood illnesses to picky eaters. It’s sometimes not easy to find yourself the perfect niche. But think it over, on what subject are you THE expert to ask any question about?

Your child’s life will be filled with fresh experiences. It’s good if yours is as well. ~Dr. Margaret Rutherford Click To Tweet

The Wealthy Affiliate University

I became, in the meanwhile, so over-enthusiastic about what Wealthy Affiliate has to offer to so many people, I decided to make this special website to promote Wealthy Affiliate, its community, and the education. It is your time so worthy to get acquainted with us, and the way we work. The course will take you by the hand and lead you step-by-step towards a fully functional and even profitable website. The community is caring and helpful. You will feel at home.

Take the first baby step towards a new life

It feels like your new baby is born when you publish your first website, you take loving care of it, you nurture your website like a baby. It will fill the void in your life.