I am so, soooo, close to empty nest that I may as well start telling you all about my empty nest journey. It’s been a shocker and wonderful at the same time. I have been a stay-at-home mom for the last 20 years. This is a major career pivot, to say the least.– I heard someone say that I should look at it as a career “pivot” rather than what I often thought of it as, my job being outsourced to the real-world. — As I began looking at the fact I needed to fill my time and my life with new things, it became clear that there needed to be some rediscovery. I have decided that I need an Empty Nest Bucket List. This list can help me find activities that fill my time and also give me a bit of self-discovery. Or is that re-discovery
This list isn’t just travel destinations –though I am going to be creating one of those too.– This bucket list is things I have wanted to do but for one reason or another I put it off because…kids. We all have those things, no matter our time or money having dependants in the home changes a person into a giver for their kids, no matter the age. I wouldn’t go so far as saying this is my “Empty Nester Bucket List to Become a Taker”, but it is definitely, my “Empty Nester Bucket List to Become Me Again”. What’s funny about this list is that it’s very similar to the list of things I wanted to do before I had kids (and baby-moon wasn’t a thing then).
- Turn a kids bedroom into a Guest Room –DONE!
- Move out of my house and size down
- Take a couples trip –seriously, we did that 4 times in the last 20 years
- Learn Piano –currently taking lessons
- Start a business –doing check it out (Pinconcierge.com)
- Sell a business— probably should successfully complete #5
- Date your husband more — not just watch Netflix together
- Take up a hobby with my husband — he’s a hunter so this is gonna be hard
- Finally take a girls trip — seriously only did this 4 times in 20 years too
- Contact old friends — Facebook friends you’ve been warned
- Create a life timeline — my memory feels like it’s slipping already.
- Pick a charity and make it my charity of choice –DONE!! Days For Girls Check it Out!
- See Hamilton –SATISFIED (well not yet)
- Visit every LDS temple in Utah, then the US then North America, then the world (159 total)
- Finally visit the last 2 states I haven’t been too (NC & AK, see #10)
- Color more mandalas — seriously love drawing and coloring them
- Do a 30 day challenge of origami successfully — I always got time crunched
- Tai Chi — I felt I wasn’t allowed to try this until I was “old” I am there now.
- Revisit the place my husband and I had our first date –this might not exist anymore
- Serve a mission with my husband
- Take it easy on my body when I exercise –I have overdone this by not exercising
- Enjoy more movies out
- Read more –And not just romance novels (but still lots of those)
- Go square dancing and reenactment dancing more
- Accept that I will be just as short on time — this list did it
- Throw away guilt about my kids college struggles
- Regularly attend the city council meetings and become “that” person
- Pick a local restaurant and make it “our place”
- Get a She-Shed or at least a real office (see #2)
- Make my bed less cause I can nap in it more
So there you have it my Empty Nester Bucket List. OK, it will change but this is an overwhelmingly large start. Which means I need to add one more things, “pitch the list if you are happy with life as it is
If you want to check out other posts about my life
