There is a lot to talk about when children get old enough to move out, whether for work, studies, or anything else.  It marks a change in the family structure, a transition for all involved.

Feelings are often intense as this transition approaches, as well as while it’s taking place.  In some families, the months prior to the moving out are filled with arguments—unconsciously, in order to make the leave-taking less difficult!  This is worth talking about, for sure.

So is the question of “what now? for anyone not doing the leaving as the nest is being  emptied. Fear of becoming irrelevant may strike, of suddenly being thought of as OLD, of needing to do something new or different, but what? Parents struggle with all of this as well as changes in their personal adult relationships without the presence of, and worries about, the child who’s moving out and on.

Talking about your perspective, opportunities, anxieties, hopes, and dreams (realistic or otherwise) is valuable as you sort out options and remember how it feels when you smile.