Why We’re Not Calling It “The Empty Nest”

It is not lost on me that our anniversary fell two days after we dropped our last at college.  Our anniversary is a reminder of where we started. Though we aren’t going back to that place entirely, it is a returning of sorts.

I’ve been considering this “empty nest” moment for a long, long time – when life would (for real) never be the same.

When I was younger, all I ever really wanted to be was a mom. I was wired for it and I knew it deep in my bones. Though raising kids was the hardest job I ever tackled, it was also the most rewarding.

I loved walking through ALL of the moments with my children – the messy, hard, joyful, rewarding, loving, irritating, angry, loving, and fun. It was a jumble that all added up to FAMILY. This is what and who we are together.

So when those active parenting years were over, it left a profound void. The quiet of the house, the open schedule, the food that never gets eaten in the refrigerator… it all signaled an ending I never wanted in the first place.

And yet there we were… and here we are.

One of my favorite writers, Jacques Philippe, says that when facing a challenging or difficult season, we have three choices:

• resist what is happening (fight it)
• resign ourselves to what is happening (become a victim to it)
• consent to what is happening (accept it and move through it)

So I’m working on consenting to this season. And not just consenting to it, but embracing it, knowing it is offering new opportunities and windows of time.

In that spirit, we’ve decided we’re not calling this season the EMPTY NEST. 

Nope.  We’re BASECAMP, sending climbers out for their adventures. 

My climbing partner, Erik, has been my #1 fan for twenty-nine years and, as a spouse, that kind of love molds and shapes you.  It’s been wildly imperfect, but perfection is never the goal, LOVE IS.  Always.

I am eternally grateful for this little basecamp team of ours…  and we’re ready to have some big adventures of our own.  #letsgo