Much like birth itself, stepping into empty nesting is shocking. Its impact is immediate and its permanency sobering. I was surprised to be surprised by the emotional and physical pain of this transition. Sure, the internet predicts a range of reactions from the sorrow of relocating your youngest child outside your home to the joy of freedom that comes with a significantly abbreviated list of daily responsibilities. But no one talks explicitly about the actual transition, which essentially involves a switch flipped.
Two months into my life as an empty nester, I’m beginning to understand why this change was so powerful—it marks the official end of the fourth trimester. This period has traditionally been defined by the resolution of physical changes wrought by pregnancy, with a spotlight on the uterus. What it fails to acknowledge is that many other body parts remain in flux after six weeks, especially the brain.
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