What! You got cable?! One of the first changes we made when our last birdie flew was to move to a new home. It wasn’t really sudden as we had been looking for 5 ish years. While the kids grew up, we had spent 13 years in a simple, affordable, one bathroom house that met our needs and afforded us the lifestyle we chose. However, this nest wasn’t optimal when our daughters-in-law started sleeping over. This was the best decision we have made so far for our empty nest living!
Finding the best nest has freshened up our lives daily and transformed our time spent together when the kids come home to visit. This transformation can happen without moving and will be different for everyone based on whether or not your children live away. Your current home can be reworked to make it a fresh, empty, best nest!
I wanted our home to have a Bed and Breakfast feel for any and all guests. We have set-up the extra bedrooms to be sparsely furnished with comfortable beds, which allows plenty of room for luggage, pop-up baby beds, and anything else these people-types might need. The rooms have dual phone charging plugs, fluffy white robes in the almost empty closets with available hangers, empty drawers in dressers, and quality towels stacked in the linen closet. Each room has a fun theme and is named accordingly. This makes me happy and communicates that our family is wanted and welcome here and we desire them to be comfortable and to want to visit our home.
It may be different for you…your children may live close and you may not need guest rooms. But I do encourage changing up the kid rooms when they fly. Instead of leaving the rooms as a shrine to remind you of the sadness of change and what once was, freshen them up with a new theme. Maybe you need a grandbaby napping room or grandkids play room; maybe you are crafty and need a craft room; maybe it’s time for an exercise room or office for that new empty-nest career, hobby, or volunteer adventure. Whatever it is, make it fun and workable for your new life. Change is good, even for those of us who don’t like it!
…and yes, after 35 years of marriage we got cable for the first time!
Musings from an Empty Nest 
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Congrats on the move and I did the exact same thing! My family thought I was nuts when we upsized rather than downsized after the last flew the coop…but I wanted a home that would welcome not just the kids, but everything and everyone that became important to them as they spread their own wings. But…cable for the first time after 35 years? Ummmmmmmm, after 33, I can honestly say, without the cable…it may have only been 10!!! Yikes…good for you. 🙂
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Same here – people kept asking if we were downsizing…NO!
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