A Proud Moment

When the children grow up and begin to take on responsible tasks such as a job and making a home of their own. It is said they have flown the nest. It is a proud moment for a man, woman, or any couple who have finally raised their children to adulthood and have seen them successfully leave the safety and security of the nest at last.The children have finally grown, left the nest and are now out on their own hopefully becoming productive members of society with children of their own to raise, lives to lead and enjoy and career paths to develop.Becoming an empty nester is truly a rite of passage, a major part of motherhood and at times a difficult transition stage of development for any parent to come to terms with and eventually accept.This particular adult status, which admittedly is difficult for many parents, requires a psychological adjustment for all concerned. Parenting manuals maintain that becoming an empty nester is a big transition in life, much bigger than many folks had ever previously realized or anticipated.One of the biggest challenges in being an empty nester ought to be trying to decide what to do with all the free time that naturally happens when you do not have your kids at home anymore. You and your significant other are now able to share and enjoy life together.This could ideally be a time of self discovery when the parental couple are now able to rediscover life together without the many responsibilities that faced them during their children's formative years. It could be a time of growth, travel and personal development.For many couples attaining this new found identity only adds difficulties to their life plans. The downturn in the current economy has forced their now adult children to return home to the nest and seek food, shelter and understanding from their aging parents.These twenty and thirty year old adults return home and now add their own financial burden to the couple's well-planned and carefully structured nest egg. Their once adequate financial cushion against hard times is now rapidly being depleted.These aging parents now face the difficult task of either supporting their adult offspring for the long term or else take the initiative and gently and politely eject their adult children from the nest.The empty nest stage of life supposedly offered the couple new found freedoms, more storage space and the ability to play their music as loudly as they wished.But the adult children returning to the nest now constricts their personal freedoms, quickly erodes their financial cushion and inevitably increases the stress felt in the family.The once severed ties to the children are now hastily retied and day to day band aid solutions to the family's new found situation only alienates and disrupts the empty nest lifestyle.Whether this is a good or a bad thing will be determined in the future, but there is no doubt that these days the role of an empty nester is not easy to define. It is a life situation that even younger couples should plan for and not wait until their last child has left home.The increasing economic, social and personal challenges we all face affect out lifestyles and the way we see ourselves in the world. Planning ahead early in life for unexpected life changes and challenges will offer options and alternative courses of action to follow.Gerry Charbonneau recently retired from the active work force and now has the time and the much needed energy to write articles for his blog, Nibbled News. Although he was employed in the automotive/industrial sector of the labor market he had been a reporter/photographer for a community newspaper prior to his employment. His website offers readers the chance to offer their comments, rediscover and enjoy the world about themselves. By taking a second look at life through his writing the author hopes to inspire his readers to rethink their everyday experiences and inject a bit of humor, wit and fun in their lives. Reader feedback and suggestions for storylines are always welcomed. Drop by. Relax. Read. Enjoy. Visit http://www.nibblednews.typepad.com soon. a vist to http://www.enjoy-your-retirement.com is also recommended.Published: - http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerry_Charbonneau

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