Thank you for the sympathetic comments and emails after last week’s post about my empty nest. I even heard from a long time newsletter subscriber who is a biology teacher at my daughter’s Israeli school. She looked at the school’s roster, and was able to determine which student was my daughter! Very funny for my daughter to know that her “famous mom” is known all around the world. Ha ha ha!!
After the first couple of mopey days, when I kept expecting my daughter to return home at any minute, I started to adjust to the new rhythm of my days. This weekend I traveled to see my brother and sister-in-law without feeling guilty about leaving my daughter behind. And I’m looking into new activities to fill my free time. I’ve corralled a couple of girlfriends to join me at a folk dancing class this week. At the very least, I expect it to be a good workout!
Is your daughter in the EIE program (a URJ program based on a kibbutz near Jerusalem), or another exchange program? I understand exactly what you’re feeing. My son spent 4 months in Israel on the EIE program in the fall of 2006. He was packing while still watching bombs falling on northern Israel. It was really hard to let him go then. However, we visited him over Thanksgiving and we all enjoyed our visit. The frequent updates and photos the program provided really helped us stay in touch, and he wrote a blog while he was there: http://aronsbigadventure.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html. When he returned home, his 2nd semester project was to make a movie about his adventure. If you’d like a copy, I’d be glad to send it to you.
P.S. I’ve been a fan of yours for several years. Thanks for all you do for teachers!
Dear Barbara
I’m glad for you so you compromise with your situation and I know your douther will be more relaxed when she find you relaxed so she can learn better.you made a good choice for being with your sister and brother and also new frinds at the folk dansing class.
Best Regards,
Mehdi
You will find that over time it is actually fun to be an empty nester and that when the kids do come home you actually enjoy them. They grow up, have mature thoughts and ideas and are fun to be with.