Be.Think.Say.Do
My kid has been gone nearly a year. By my reckoning, we both got kind of used to the new way of things about six months in. I felt she got settled then, which made me get settled then. And my kid left two siblings behind, so I am not an empty nest candidate. […]
Read More…
Whether you’re whooping or grieving, it’s the end of an era like no other. Whether they’ve hot footed it to Uni, or taken their first dose of independent living and working, here’s your guide on how to face forward and prosper (aka ‘get through’). Stage 1 – the early days Cry! Having a sob can be […]
Read More…
Some people cruise through it, some suffer in silence, some move on quickly. Your kid growing up and leaving home is a very personal journey. I was shocked by the comments following an on-line story from a woman describing the grief she felt when her grown daughter moved interstate. They were super close, and the […]
Read More…
For many, grief is keenly associated with their kid leaving home. It can take many guises, from simple sadness, maybe fleeting, to overwhelming, searing pain. For the sufferers, when mixed with optimism and strength (underpinned with support from others), it may take on a less painful shape. For others it cuts deep, dominates and requires […]
Read More…
My daughter had the biggest room in the house. Two windows onto the garden, framing an old wooden desk from her father’s youth. Opposite, a wall of shelves groaning with fantasy fiction, dystopian futures, botanical analysis, Harper Lee and JK Rowling, maths and chem, pop ups, falling apart antique, Leunig, Sean Tan, Shakespeare. And among […]
Read More…
A common term is bandied around to package our feelings when our child leaves home. We are experiencing ’empty nest syndrome’, a handy descriptor to explain the clash of thoughts and feelings that erupt at that moment, many not anticipated or previously experienced. A social descriptor, rather than a clinical diagnosis, ’empty nest syndrome’ is […]
Read More…
What’s that movie when the two guys set off for Vegas for a weekend of debauchery, whooping, music blaring, and the next scene they are silent and contemplative, only five minutes in? It’s very funny and reminds me of taking off for Uni several decades ago. My mum behind the wheel, car bleeding bed linen, […]
Read More…
thegardencounselling.wordpress.com 