not an unhappy place after all!
Are you looking forward to an empty nest? Look no further than spending a night on the town!
Are you looking forward to an empty nest? Look no further than spending a night on the town! Since the 1970s, relationship experts have popularized the notion of “empty nest syndrome,” a time of depression and loss of purpose that plagues parents when their children leave home. Simon & Schuster even introduced “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” a book dedicated to empty nesters.
While most boomers clearly miss children who have left home for college, jobs or marriage, they also enjoy the greater freedom and relaxed responsibility. Boomers are making the most of this time in their lives.
And despite the common worry that long-married couples will find themselves with nothing in common, new research, published in the November issue of the journal Psychological Science, shows that marital satisfaction actually improves when the children make their exits. The research showed, “Marital satisfaction increased in middle age...satisfaction was linked to the transition to an empty nest. More specifically, the transition to an empty nest increased martial satisfaction via an increase in enjoyment of time spent with their partner,” according to the report “Contextualizing Change in Marital Satisfaction During Middle Age: An 18-Year Longitudinal Study.”
Empty nesters for the first time in years have a chance to plan for that ultimate vacation, begin a long desired career, look for a significant other, date, and spend quality time with family and friends. Life could never be better!