Empty Nest Support Services

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Senior year I started an empty nest group at my house...

By Natalie Caine |

Once every two months with five other moms of daughters.. We did pot luck sat and ate and talked and cried and laughed... It is a support for the transition and new beginnings all of us could be living...we used email to also keep in touch because the year was soooooo emotional and busy...Sometimes we would meet for coffee and dinner in between...

We shared ideas, helped each other with the kids' issues and our own and with the application process... Some of the issues discussed were: visiting the schools, peer influences, rejections from schools, test scores, competition, the role we play their senior year and what we need...Then we moved into the graduation celebration, the joys of celebrating our history together and then actually before June, in May, the joy of talking about what college they committed to... my joke was always...WHEN WILL WE KNOW WHAT SWEATSHIRT WE WILL BE WEARING ALREADY... my friend actually made a wait list sweat shirt for her child... we had fun in the tears and details...

The next biggy was how and what to pack and how long to stay on campus... We shared check sheets from colleges of what to bring and what details to attend to like, health check ups, shots, health insurance to add to your policy, insurance on cameras and lap tops to add to homeowners policy for theft or damage, on campus debit cards for bookstore, meals, laundry, post office, library use and for some schools , stores downtown... opening new checking accounts in local towns, new cell phones and numbers that work in the receptive areas, lap tops printers and speakers, phones for their dorm rooms and long distance plans... What to ship ahead and how long will the school store them, before you get there if at all. If not, can the hotel keep them until you arrive and can drive the boxes to campus... So many details... And of course, the deadline for tuition payment plans... Where will your child's bills be sent... New email addresses for all students and their friends and how they will share those... that they get to after they get on campus and set up computers in their rooms...

Orientation meetings for students and parents once you move into dorms...room mates and new families. What to share for the room as far as buying it and the cost, refrigerator, lamps, printer, waste baskets, area rugs and some money for them to decorate their new home together....
Registering for classes on line and ordering college books and then picking them up when you get there...a lot of new ways to get things done by computer so they are instructed all summer to check the college web site and their college email address for to do's and deadlines...We all talked about those details as well...

Having each other was so supportive...I thought the group would end after move in, but they asked to keep going and we will be meeting next week to share our stories of how the move in went and the tearful good-byes, as well as how we are doing for these few weeks since they have been gone... We are a growing support and so appreciative to have each other...