Empty Nester Quotes

“Now that Olive was grown, I didn't know what to do with myself. You could build your life around one single thing, like a view or a child, but that was risky. You had so much to lose.”
― Michael Lee West, She Flew the Coop

“Parenting is a sacred responsibility with the sobering reality, of raising scholars or scars.”
― Tom Althouse, The Frowny Face Cow

“I experience every day the truth of what you once told me, that there are certain thoughts which are not to be dwelt upon, but passed over as lightly as possible, unless we would be forever in tears: that is my case: for there is not a place in the house which does not give a stab to my heart when I see it: but your room especially deals a deadly blow from every part of it.”
― Marie Rabutin-Chantal De Sevigne, The Letters of Madame De Sevigne to Her Daughter and Friends

“My little boy was no more and even though he'd come home for vacations, our relationship would never be quite the same. Just as he would have to learn to be an adult in the world, so would I have to learn to live without him.”
― Sallyann Murphey, The Metcalfe Family Album: The Unforgettable Saga of an American Family

“You and Dad are really the wrecking ball of all of our teenage runaway fantasies. Why couldn't you jerks go and be crack addicts or religious fanatics so we could have excuses to live on the wide open road? - email from Lily”
― Candace Allan, Text Me, Love Mom: Two Girls, Two Boys, One Empty Nest

“The empty nest can be one of the toughest parts of parenting. It’s a holy, hard giving-back, a sacred release of our children into God’s care and their next chapter. But you, too, have a new chapter, and you can find peace as you transition from mom to empty nest mom and rediscover that mom is not your only name.
There is a second act, a future with your name on it, different from your children’s but filled with hope and surprises you cannot begin to imagine…if you plan for it, believe in it, and, with the Lord’s help, walk fearlessly into it.

You are cordially invited to the After Party…because Mom is not your only name.”
― Kate Battistelli, The After Party of the Empty Nest: Mom is Not Your Only Name

“Motherhood is both a beautiful dance and a brutally gut-wrenching exercise in self-
control. As much as we want to jump in and solve every one of our children’s problems, we must
now sit on the sidelines, letting them learn to live without us. And as they begin to learn, we learn
something too. We learn to pray without ceasing. And we learn God has an Act II just for us.
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Raising children to be capable adults is one of the most amazing, agonizing, beautiful,
and painful things we will ever do. We celebrate our children’s independence while mourning
their departure. In fact, if we grieve their going, we most likely did it right.
I had no idea of the surprises God had in store for me, and He has them for you, too.”
― Kate Battistelli, The After Party of the Empty Nest: Mom is Not Your Only Name