When our last child left home, I was sure that we would now have all the time in the world to spend with friends, hanging out, traveling, sharing all that newfound free time we all suddenly had. Instead, it has been busier than ever and the idea that we, and all of our friends, would be lounging poolside sipping margaritas was really just a fantasy.
So it has been surprising that it’s even more difficult finding time to see our friends now. With the absence of that “school calendar” and the fact that all of our kids have their own schedules, I have become aware of an empty nest of a second kind: The Empty Nest of Friendship.
Our friends with kids the same ages have also been experiencing a re- commitment to work or creative endeavors. When the kids were young there was a definite structure to our lives: the school calendar..