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Show Empty Poof oyndromc Is there life after motherhood? moth-erhood? Like many who retire from jobs, the woman wo-man who watches hef children chil-dren leave home may consider con-sider herself unwanted and unneeded. The empty nest syndrome syn-drome is a feeling of em -ptiness. A feeling of loneliness, lone-liness, loss of status and role identification. Its not really the children chil-dren leaving that is so crucial. Its what it makes us reflect upon. We want to hang on to them, not because its the best thing for us or for them, but because we don't know where we, as adults will go ourselves. Parenthood can make us forget . we are people too. Many conversations center around children and their activities. The marriage suddenly faces a different light. Bot partners suddenly have to face each other and find they are strangers. Dads who have worked thru their children's growing up years, often say 'What did I mean to them? They are gone and I didn't even know them.' 'You must break out on your own, whether its through volunteer work, a job, going back to college, starting a new craft or taking tak-ing up new interests. This first step is often the most terrifying, but once begun, the world will open up. The empty nest doesn't have to signal the end. It can signal a new beginning. |