Question: What’s an empty nest for?

Answer: You fill in the blank: My nest will be filled with “______.”

I was very excited to see my kids grow their wings and learn to fly. Then they flew away. It was always my plan that they would, but the day became my someday; and I wasn’t fully prepared for it. If you watch birds raise their fledglings, after the babies fly away, the adult birds fly off, too. I must have missed the importance of understanding this detail. I get to fly to new places, too? Yeah, I know we all make those someday plans, but whoever talks about identifying how or when that someday will arrive. Without knowing this, how will you know when it’s here and be able to plan for it? This is where I got stuck creatively. Whether it’s when the kids are gone, or the mortgage is paid off or you finally get that studio, it’s the same issue. Will you be ready? What will come next? What are the steps you’ll take?

Devilish details! It’s really hard to start again because it’s scary. Parts are exciting and others are emotionally baffling. It’s taken me awhile to discover that I don’t need to dwell in the feelings of loss and emptiness, leaving me unprepared for my next nesting. Instead I realized I get to recreate something new and exciting, because I’ve identified and claimed that this is my someday. They’re not all bad. Life has a way of taking us on juicy detours; but they help us know what flavors we truly like. All my experience from mistakes and hopeful attempts, as well as my wins have helped me to recognize that empty nests are a gift from my somedays. It’s the same thing for any project you worked hard on. It doesn’t matter if it met your standard of success or not. Because you made the choice to do it, you name when it’s done and then you can choose what comes next again.

Here’s the really cool part: You can feather your new nest any way you want!

You can use the good china or throw it out and get something different. You can turn empty bedrooms into guest rooms or alternate studios. Give up quilting in exchange for making jewelry. When you’ve finished that manuscript you can learn to paint. You can do whatever you desire, because your someday has arrived.

If you woke up tomorrow and were living your someday dreams, what would you be doing?

Tell me about the feathers that will remake your empty nests today.