Bits of empty nesting

When you’re an aspiring photographer you tend to take a lot of pictures.  I’m like that.  I take a lot of pictures – from our view of empty nest life, our pets, our plants, our food, you know, just normal everyday life in the slower lane.

I love to look back through photos I’ve taken for bits of inspiration.

Or I ask myself questions like, “What was I up to last year at this time?”  With so many pictures, it is easy to find an answer.  I open a folder on our server and search for the date range and BOOM…inspiration pops.

Last year, I had gone on an adventure around the yard to discover what plants were sprouting up.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It’s fun to travel back in time for a parallel comparison to my life now.  Yikes…it looks like time to take a new picture of my hair?  Wow!  It’s grown quite a bit since the big chop of last year.

Looking back a year reminds me to challenge myself to see if I have grown, or if I’m the same.  Not only had I finally freed myself of all the previously colored hair, I was prepared for our youngest to return home from college.  To land “home” for a bit before she relaunched out on her own.

We had been essentially empty nesters for 4 years.  How were we going to handle the return?   What kind of scary things were we going to find on this new stage?

We were excited, scared, happy, nervous, and mostly relieved she was finishing up college and wanted to come home for a bit to a tiny island in her old room.

For a bit. 

“It won’t be forever, just temporary, Mom.  I have to live my own life, just need time to figure out a plan, save money…maybe 6-7 months, is that okay?  You understand, don’t you?”

“Yes, I understand, you’re growing, and I’m excited for you.  And I’m happy you want to come home for a bit.”

Just like when both of our kids were babies, that stage was temporary, too.  We lived through their growing up years, we lived through temporary landing, and we can live through this re-empty nest stage including all the transitions it brings us.

Bit, by bit, we enjoy our authentic empty nest life.  

Spring is a great time to launch off into changes again.  To discover new things as they pop up, and to get growing ourselves into the new stage of life.  The endless possibilities of an empty nest are ready for us to discover.