Sever empty nest syndrome

[Onedaftmum]

I now live alone, the last has flown the nest all be it less than 30 miles away. I’m happy for him having his own new home and I’ve loved buying him stuff for his new house. But oh boy do I have severe empty nest syndrome. I thought I’d be fine, no mess to clear up, no need to turn tv up etc etc but I’m not fine, it’s hell! Can’t sleep can’t eat. Trying to keep busy but can’t. Please tell me something positive and that this is normal. I feel far from normal.

As no one has commented I couldn’t not leave a little message. I don’t have any advice, although my husband is currently away on business and I was so looking forward to a week on my own. No mess, no cooking proper dinners. Gardening all day, no interruptions.

But boy, the evening is the killer, after being so busy, then no one to chat to about your day. I do have 3 dogs, I know, mad. They are amazing company, they can be a bit restrictive sometimes but worth it.

Perhaps having a pet could help with being lonely. I meet and chat to so many people whilst out walking the dogs. I have 2 Frenchies and a Labrador. The personality of the Frenchies is so different from the Lab, they’re cheeky and funny. The lab is an old girl now and just wants to a quiet life 🤗

Oh Onedaftmum, I'm looking at the same situation in a few years and it's already caused me a few sleepless nights. It's wonderful that our kids are getting on with their lives, I know you'll have sacrificed so much to get them to that point. But it's empty evenings and no other adult you can chat to. I get it. I guess we look for new ways to belong to the world - I'm thinking of joining solo travel groups and getting to do some other activity where there's lots of people. No easy answer, but I look at women living alone in my area, and they are busy. And they look OK with life. I think we'll make it too. Hugs to you.

I totally get this although I was not in my own but all my dc left close together. The first year to 18 months was really hard but I got through it by forcing myself to do new things. So I joined some activities. Took on a volunteer role one evening. Tried to meet up more with friends.
I also tried to remind myself that I had helped them all be independent young adults and that they would be great company still. I really tried not to make them feel they had to see me but did enjoy cooking for them etc when we did meet up.

How are you getting on @Onedaftmum? Hope things are feeling a little better.