This is the third of four Fantastic Friday posts dealing with using what seems to be a bad thing for a good purpose. This post is dealing with finding the good in our children growing up and leaving home.

As the mother of four children, there are days when I dream about all the children growing up and moving out of the house. I have several friends who have children that are going off to college or moving out into homes of their own. Several of these people, who only months ago had vivid dreams about the joys of a child free home, have become teary eyed and filled with fear. For many parents, especially mothers, the reality of children leaving home for college or for good is a scary thought.

As a parent, it is important to understand and acknowledge that we raise our children so they can go out into the world on their own. This means that for every parent, the day will come, if we are blessed, that our children will leave the our homes and go out into the world. This fact is one that everyone knows and clearly  understands. What people do not commonly think of and what we as parents must prepare for is the fact that our children are growing up and leaving us. Instead of looking at this fact as something to be dreaded, we should look at the fantastic things our children leaving home means.

An empty nest means you now have time for a lot of improvement projects you put off in the past because you didn’t have the room, the time or were doing things for your children. Are you a budding seamstress who always wanted a little space to lay out fabric, pattern and notions without them being disturbed? Perhaps you are a bibliophile who always dreamed of a private library with thousands of wonderful volumes to peruse. Now that the children are up and out of the house, leaving their rooms empty, these things are possible.

What if instead of being the indoors type, you have always dreamed of hitting the road in a little RV and seeing the road. In the past you could not because the children had to be at school each day, homework had to be done. Now you are free, you can get up and hit the road with abandon. Once again, the world is yours and you are able to treat the world as if it is your oyster take a bite out of life. Do not look at your children growing up and getting out as a bad thing, instead rejoice in the possibilities a child free home will bring. So, the question for you this Fantastic Friday is what can you now do since the kids have moved up and out?