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Gettyimages.com/Mother hugging teenage son as he packs for college

Nobody is ever prepared for empty nest syndrome. How could you be? Think about the days and months that lead up to your nest becoming empty. You’re helping your child apply to colleges, tour colleges, go over his college essay, pick out volunteer work to boost his college resume, talking to him about that volunteer work, meeting with his school counselor, packing his things, picking out dorm furniture….WOW. Just writing those things out is exhausting. You don’t have a moment to think about the fact that your child is leaving in the days leading up to him actually leaving. And then he’s just…gone. It’s chaos, followed by alarming stillness. So no—there’s no time to mentally prepare yourself and it can come as a bit of a shock. Here is what nobody tells you about empty nest syndrome.

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You can’t reach out as much

You can’t call and text as much as you used to. You want to, but part of your child becoming a little adult is that you leave him be. You no longer need to check in about what he’s having for lunch or when he’ll be home. You didn’t realize how much of your phone activity was eaten up by your child.

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