Will You Say Yes? is a portion of a quote I read in Kate Battistelli’s book “The After Party of the Empty Nest,” and I’m pondering it with you today.
For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for only five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.
Day 16 of Lent 2025 – March 20
I’m facing the empty nest as a single mom, and it’s scary. I never wanted to be in this stage alone, but that’s the hard truth. For months, I’ve tried to deny this stage is coming as sure as the sun rises each morning. I blocked it out of view. However, when Kate Battistelli contacted me and asked me to be her virtual assistant, I couldn’t hide from this fact any longer.
It’s my job to read this book so I can pull quotes from it for Kate’s graphics. In a way, I’ve been forced to read it though I’ve been scared to face the truth. The good news is that this book is giving me the hope I’m seeking, even as a single mom.
Will You Say Yes?
It’s been hard to look at the future with any hope in the past three years of trauma and hardship. That’s why it’s hard for me to say yes that the future could hold any hope for me once my children aren’t here as often.
The current status is this: my oldest son moved out last year, and that was a taste of the empty nest beginning. My middle son lives with me, but we’re like passing ships in the night because he works full-time in the afternoons and evenings. My daughter is with me the most as she does online school. However, she’ll start college in the fall, and I’ll be alone more than I have been in over 20 years, as a young, neglected wife.
Soon after my divorce in 2022, my counselor shared something important with me. He said, “This isn’t going to be easy for you to hear.” So he let me prepare myself. Then he said, “Your children are not your emotional support system.” He explained that as teenagers, they were all preparing to spread their wings and fly. I would need to depend on my friends for the support I needed, and let my children grow up without suppressing them. So far, all three have said I have done this fairly well. But because my children have been my main source of joy in my difficult life, it has been challenging to let them go the way I need to do.
The After Party of the Empty Nest
The last thing I was thinking about the empty nest is that it can be a party. More like a funeral, if you would have asked me a month ago. However, Kate’s warm, encouraging words are letting hope into my heart. She even has a chapter just for single moms. As I prepare her social media posts and read the content, I’m gently led forward in faith that things will be not just okay, but good, even while my nest empties. I’m grateful she’s showing me how I can celebrate some new things I hadn’t even considered before. That’s why it can feel like a party instead of a funeral.
I encourage you to get your own copy of The After Party of the Empty Nest today. If you aren’t in that stage, gift it to a mom whose senior is graduating this year. Perhaps order copies for a moms’ group at your church to help them prepare for this phase while their kids are in junior high. I know it will be a blessing to each woman who reads it and needs encouragement for this phase, just like I do.
Order your copy HERE.
Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote. I encourage you to share your thoughts about today’s quote in the comments below.
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