My Not-so-empty Nest

I am a walking Hallmark commercial today – my delightful daughter is coming home for Christmas break and I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. 

I am so proud of Kelsey and how she successfully completed kicked-ass! in the first semester of her freshman year in college.  And in related news, I am happy to report that I survived my daughter’s first semester of freshman year.  Unlike my daughter, I did not kick its ass nor did I even rough it up a little.  At best I think I maybe intimidated it or perhaps gave it my angry mom face and sent it to its room to think about what it had done.

Earlier this year I was especially whiny on the phone one night with my friend N .  After about 10 minutes of listening to me cry and whine, my friend N  teased, “You know Kelly, no one ever died sending their kid to college.”  It was a good laugh and made me snap out of my big, fat pity-party.  And she was totally right because here I am, still alive, and not too much worse for the wear. 

My nest has undergone a lot of changes this past year – both literally and figuratively – and I have learned a lot about myself.  One of the things I know for sure is that I really hate the phrase “empty nest.” And this is why – here are just a few of the synonyms that Merriam-Webster’s list for the word “empty”:

• bare
• vacant
• unfilled
• meaningless
• pointless
• purposeless
• barren

Really??  I guess Mr. Merriam or Mr. Webster didn’t have a hormonal wife in the midst of a mid-life crisis.

Seriously though, does having an “empty nest” mean that my life is now meaningless or pointless? Does this imply that my ultimate purpose in this world was to raise my offspring and send her out into the world? And now that I’ve successfully managed to do that, I’m supposed to just drift through the next half of my life with no purpose or meaning? Seriously???

I’m sorry, but I don’t buy that for one second. Because what I have found, through Faith and a whole lot of soul searching, is that my nest just isn’t that empty.  Actually, on the contrary, my life is abundant.

My life is complete because of my wonderful husband/partner/best friend of nearly 20 years and my delightful daughter. My life is bursting with the love and support of my family and friends. My life is packed with ordinary little things that bring me so much happiness and joy.

And most importantly, my life is meaningful because I am a child of God.  And I am saved.

 

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”  Luke 1:46-47

Peace, Kelly