How to Survive Baby Birds Leaving the Nest

I have two baby birds that will be leaving the nest shortly. One will leave this August; the other will leave next August. As I have been making college visits and going to orientation, many feelings are surfacing. I am excited for my daughter leaving for college; I am also sad that I won’t see her every day. I am happy and proud of her and the woman she is becoming; I also feel sad that she won’t need me as much. I am looking forward to all of her growth, joys, successes and experiences; I also am afraid that she will fall and get hurt and maybe break a wing. It is truly a bitter sweet time.

Life as I have known it is changing. I am entering a new phase of my life. If you have a baby bird leaving the nest, you understand how I am feeling.

Are you asking yourself any or all of these questions?

___ Wasn’t it just yesterday that I built and gathered things for the nest?

___ How did time fly by so quickly?

___ Is my baby bird still going to need me?

___ Will my baby bird be able to fly on her own?

___ What am I going to do with all of my time now that no birds are in the nest?

___ Where did all of my friends go while I was in the nest with my baby birds?

___ What do I and her dad have in common besides our baby birds?

___ What do I want for myself in this next phase of my life?

If there is one thing I have learned it is that I get to choose HOW I view situations. I also know that HOW I view a situation affects what gets created from the situation. I could view this new phase of my life as scary and sad OR I could view it as exciting and opportunistic. I choose to be in the perspective that this new phase is exciting and it is an opportunity. I choose to create from this perspective. If you also choose this perspective or one similar, then read on.

Here are some ways to keep this perspective alive:

Start a hobby doing something that you’ve always wanted to do

Take a class on your own, with a friend or with your spouse

Plan a vacation to some exotic place

Start a progressive dinner clubinvite some old’ friends and invite some new’ friends

Write out your vision of how you want your next phase of life to be. Be specific.

Re-kindle or kindle a dream of yours

Make a list of books and read them

Plan, do and complete a home improvement project that you haven’t had the time to do

Go to lunch each week with an old friend you haven’t seen in a while

Have a get-together with other empty-nesters

Make a list of all the fun things you want to do and start doing them RIGHT NOW!

We all have many gifts that we’ve never opened. It’s time to open some of yours. Find your wings! Dan Zadra