Life has a way of moving on. Kids grow up. The pulls on your time and heart change and shift. It may be a time of sadness because your children are growing up, but it can also be a time of exploration and discovery for you!
While we are emptying the nest, it may not go smoothly. Our adult children can continue to challenge us. We may suffer in processing the events of their lives. In one sense, these situations leave us with one foot in the nest and one foot out!
But move on we must. There is life beyond motherhood and it is a rich and full life!
I am so glad you are here! I started Real Mom Life to speak to the mom muddling through tough parenting situations, as well as to the mom moving forward to find her mojo after motherhood.
As you empty the nest and fill the life, you will have time and energy to focus on YOU. Maybe it has been years since you have done so. Taking care of others and putting their needs first left some of us to put our needs last.
Now is your time! You can try new things, explore friendships, take care of yourself in new ways, think about the dreams you want to make come true for the rest of your life! It is not selfishness. It is nurturing and investing in your SELF – the precious person who has always made time for others.
How will you savor your days? Let’s start your exploration!
Explore your PURPOSE AND PASSION
Our lives with children were often overflowing with activities, helping and nurturing. Sometimes there was room for little else!
As the nest empties, some breathing space opens up. You can begin to build in the components of a full life after family life.
What does it look like for you? An encore career, perhaps. Or travel. You may be thinking through your new purpose in life and excavating passions that suit you.
It is a time of adventure and exploration, for sure!
What are the adventures you have been dreaming about? Maybe it’s travel. This is a time to try new things and have some fun! Take out that list of things you’re always wanted to do and DO THEM!
Take a look at your RELATIONSHIPS
No matter how old your kids are, you will always be a parent. It’s a lifelong job.
Some kids leave the nest easily. Others struggle.
Part of emptying our nest may involve processing and moving past painful parenting. Been there. Done that. Got the broken heart to prove it. But life moves on. You CAN have a fulfilling life even if your relationships with your older children are painful, or they are broken and troubled.
This is a time to reflect on motherhood and how it has changed us.
Are you thinking about grandchildren? May we all be blessed with them. Let’s be Good Grannies to them.
Life is always shifting and shuffling in the emptying nest. Our relationships with our children change.
If we are married, our interactions with our spouse will be different and potentially improved!
If our marriage has not endured this season of life, maybe you are thinking through the value of a new relationship for this new season.
As we sweep the nest, it is definitely past time to deal with toxic relationships in our lives.
Are you still married? How is that going?
Do you have a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the friendship of other women?
We’ll discuss all these relationships here.
Take some time for HEALTH AND BEAUTY
As we age, it is even more important to take time for health. Taking care of ourselves means taking care of all of ourselves, including how we feel about ourselves, how we dress, how we wish to present ourselves to others.
We’ll have mature, sensible discussions about health and beauty.
Don’t forget your HOME AND FINANCES
Our lives are changing, but we will always function within the sphere of a home life. Home life with children may be lively, messy and loud. Home life with an empty nest may be beautiful, cultured and lovely. What will you make it?
When you are not bound by the schedules, organizational needs and taste buds of children, you can create a lovely home setting that will nourish and sustain YOU.
What will you make of it?
Explore your CREATIVITY AND SPIRITUALITY
A friend of mine found herself weeping as she swapped out children’s art on her refrigerator. I get it. Their precious creations will always have a special place in our hearts.
As you empty the nest, guess what? It is YOUR time to explore what creativity and spirituality mean to YOU and how it might add beauty and richness to your life.
It’s time to take that watercolor class, learn how to use that fancy camera, make some jewelry and try some new things!
And, of course, there’s some space for RANTS, RAVES AND REVIEWS
Who the heck is Christine Field?
When my first book was published, the Internet was an infant. My first web site was many moons ago and was a pretty clunky thing. Like all of life, I wish I knew then what I know now.
With seven traditionally published books and many more self-published ones, I’ve built and polished and learned a lot about technology. Not bad for an older gal!
My writing journey began when I left the practice of law to be a full-time mommy. I started writing little columns that grew into books. It became natural and predictable to push out a book every couple of years covering whatever phase of life I was in. I was privileged to chronicle my journey through championing motherhood, adoption, homeschooling, dealing with challenging children and more. You can see my published works at my Amazon author page below.
Over the years, I’ve spoken at tons of homeschooling/parenting/mommy conferences and meetings and had scads of articles published in places like Focus on the Family and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. These were whirlwind years with appearances on Christian TV and radio stations, like Moody and Family Life Today.
I remain a blessed mom of four grown kids and I’m also an author, speaker, attorney, and most importantly, a listener. I continue to be a practicing lawyer here in Illinois.
What can you expect to find here?
I write with transparency and honesty about the challenges of family life, parenting and mothering. The last decade has brought a variety of pretty painful experiences and my heart is to share openly about them, the solutions I’ve stumbled into and the peace I’ve found. My prayer is that you’ll be encouraged and lifted up by my words.
While you’re here, please sign up with your email. I try to put out a newsletter about once a month with something useful and encouraging. I promise I won’t waste your time.
If I can ever serve you in any way, please contact me at christinefield@sbcglobal.net
Grace and peace,
Christine
You can see all of my books at my Amazon Author Page.
