Welcome!!!! **Yesterday, was the first post that I have made in a long time here in this little space. Lots of changes have taken place in my life. Please go check that post out to catch up.**
NOBODY prepared me for this season in my life. Well, better said, I DID NOT PREPARE myself after years of homeschooling, homemaking, and investing as my number one career and ministry for this Empty Nest Season. It has been a pickle to navigate. I truly believe and know based on many of my peers that I am not alone.
When I entered this season, I decided to refresh some passions that I have always had and hobbies I tried to have in the midst of motherhood, homeschooling, and homemaking but my time was always limited. AND NOW TIME is definitely more readily available.
I am still "busy" in a since as a Pastor's wife. I still keep the home and love homemaking. I still try to be readily available to our young adult children as they need. I volunteer for a non-profit agency. So, I do have "things" going on. But to be honest, I enjoy HOME. I enjoy SLOW LIVING. I enjoy STILL moments. But I also enjoy fellowship, outdoors, and cozy "hygge" type activities. I aim for a balance. If it was up to me, I would stay at home or in a forest on a trail all the time.
With all that being said....I want to go BACK. LIKE JANUARY 2025 BACK! I want to add this here in my little space for memories and also share how my journey of navigating the Empty Nest has been.
I have always been a fan of solo prayer retreats or small getaways to reset mentally and spiritually once a year if I can. I often did this as a homeschool mom to plan and refresh. I always benefited from this. So did my family.
One of my passions I always had was hiking, nature walks and study and enjoying outdoors. As a family we often spent time on trails and nature walks, but as the kids got older the time became more limited, and those things got put on the back burner.
Empty Nest loneliness hit me hard this past winter. After the holidays it was my first winter that I seemed all alone. It was lonely and it was weird. It was quiet. Yet...lots of noise was in my mind. I felt like I had no idea who I was, what to do next, and even questioned if I did right as a parent. It was a unique time. I know my identity is in Christ, but I still struggled with this new season. Up to this point I had been on several hiking trips and hiked up to 160 miles in 2024. Not all at once. I traveled out of the country and went to major bucket list hikes and places. Empty Nesting has benefits. *Smiles* BUT there was still a strange silence and weird feeling once I would return home.
I found a little treehouse, packed up my journal, Bible, books, snacks and hit the road to pray and seek the Lord's direction and grow in peace for my yearly solo retreat. This did wonders for my soul. It had trails on the property I could enjoy. The treehouse spoke COZY in every area. I also visited a neat arboretum close by. Nature has a way to still your heart. Block out the distracting noise and makes me feel connected to the Lord in such a peaceful way.
Hiking has become a regular part of my life now as an empty nester. I have learned so much on my hikes that often relate to my everyday life and spiritual walk. From perseverance, endurance, peace, being still, trust, learning to follow directions, and so much more.
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I hope you enjoyed your visit!!! I wanted to share a little look into what I have been doing this past year as I have navigated this One Season to the Next.....
If you are an empty nester.... what are some of your hobbies, passions, or interests that helped you during that new transition? If you are about to enter that season or on the threshold what are your thoughts?
Blessings,
Chrissy T
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17 comments:
Empty nester friends I know got a dog.
Hi Chrissy,
Thanks for stopping at my blog. I enjoyed your post and can relate to that empty nest. My last one out married about 10 years ago so I've had time to get used to it. However, I was still working as a nurse, but retired last year, so I've been adjusting to that. I've started some new things, like doing a church newsletter, being a mentor mom to the young moms in our church, doing some canning and I've been working on a book of photos and memorabilia that I got when my Dad passed away.
I love your idea of getting away by yourself and spending time with God!
Am sure your fledglings will return to glean more of your wisdom through the years. Meanwhile you have time to enjoy the hiking, reading and perhaps even learn to hook a rug in that spare time. Keep your head on a swivel when you hike and don't put ear plugs in as you want to hear what is going on around you during that time. God Bless.
It's so nice to have you back blogging and sharing your life. I love to hike and think Florida is just the best place to hike! No steep hills and a lot of the trails are soft and sandy. I have rarely seen a gator on a trail....never seen one in the forest! So don't let them scare you away from the hiking trails. You have to be on the look out for snakes but that can happen anywhere you hike. Enjoy the rest of the summer! Hugs Diane
We have one daughter and when we dropped her off at college two states away, I cried all the way back. my poor husband said this was the whole plan right?
We only have one daughter and when we dropped her off a college I cried all the way home. My husband said really wasn't that the plan to have her grow up and be independent? It was I just didn't know it would go so fast. I was a stay-at-home mom. I went to work when she got in college to help out with the expenses and to keep busy. I am now retired and loving it. The part of my life that is the richest except for family is my friends I am blessed with amazing, wonderful friends. I also have hobbies to keep me busy.
Cathy
Thank you for popping over to my site from Marie's blog. I will enjoy looking around your site. We are retired and have been empty nesters for many years now. Every weekend is a long weekend. I love photography, crafts, knitting and crochet ... all things that fill my days, all at my own pace now.
I had a sweet little one that passed aways in July. So, it has truly been empty.
Thank you so much for your comment. I love the ideas you shared about mentoring. I feel a pull to do that. I have been hosting little tea parties with little younger ladies in our church to invest in them. I love the idea of working on photos. Thank you!
You are spot on about the ear plugs. I love the sounds of nature. I also want to be aware of my surroundings for sure. You are right. I do believe they will. They still come by and ask for advice. :) Thank you for coming by!! I love the idea of learning how to do a rug.
Hi Diane, THANK YOU for popping in. I always loved following up with your blog. You are an inspiration about getting outdoors.
Oh....I know!! I did it too!!! My husband cried too.
Cathy, I am so glad you have a great group of friends. This is something I am working on. Being a Pastor's wife sometimes it is tricky. But I believe this will be a great support for me.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I am learning to find out what my passions are and it has been fun.
During the school year I am keeping my 2 year old great nephew. It definitely fills my day, and makes me feel my age! I had forgotten how busy toddler are. *smile*
I have been tackling things that have been put on the back burner. I have been purging. We had a massive garage sale this summer and I am now in the process of organizing and labeling what's left. When my father-in-law retired to Florida he gave us all of his photos. I am organizing all of those. I also keep busy with gardening and homemaking. I am a homebody and most of the time I feel content puttering in and around my home.
I do have some moments when I feel lonely. Thankfully they are shorted lived.
A two year old will definitely keep you enterained. I love to putter!
The empty nest transition has been challenging for me. Throw in some health challenges in 2023 and big family challenges in 2024..and, well, I am only starting to find "my grove." It hasn't been easy. I have been walking. Not quite hiking...and certainly not miles and miles like you - whoa! But those walks every morning have been pretty special in many ways. I enjoyed your thoughts and encouragement here in this post! Blessings to you -
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