Empty Nest Syndrome

Today’s “empty-nester” differs greatly from the “empty-nester” of 35 years ago when mom was the center of her children’s lives. The exodus of the “stay-at-home” mom has changed the family forever.  Independence is forced on children much earlier, i.e. the “latch-key kid.” The all important relationship between parent and child is made on the run. Everyone hurrying out the back door in the morning and returning home hours later tired and spent is not conducive to building strong relationships.  Finally when the day arrives for the “adult-child” to strike out on his own the “empty nest” is made more bearable for mom because, perhaps out of necessity, the main focus of her attention has not been her kids, but her job.

The hurried, exhaustive life style of so many American families today makes separation less painful. Moms are busy. Her hours are full with the responsibilities of her job and in her downtime, she is less likely to reminisce about missing her children. Time has flown by, the nest is empty but she still has her job to keep her busy and distracted.

In today’s world, we miss so much when it comes to loving family relationships. Those who came before us are quite often living in retirement communities or sadly, nursing homes. Because of the ease of travel, we live all over the globe and keep in touch through e-mail. We won’t even have hand-written letters to pass on to the next generation. We are a scattered people, living independent lives, but at what price? Our elderly feel useless, moms and dads are too busy trying to make ends meet, and our children are less relatable. The suffering of the “empty nest” was manageable when the parents were lovingly nurtured by their parents. Life went on and new things were discovered and enjoyed.