lATER LIFE

Once a parent, always a parent. The journey never fully ends and whilst it can be a relief to have some years of distance between nappy changes, and saturday sports, life as a parent with grown up children comes with its own set of unique challenges.

Empty nesting, as we know it, is the term to describe the phase of parenthood following children who have ‘flown the coop'. For some, a beautiful phase of life that brings much opportunity and growth, for many however, this phase of parenthood can also bring feelings of sadness, anxiety, or a lack of direction. What do we do when our baby birds, who have been our constant for so many years are no longer around as much?

At Stork we understand that both can exist - grief and loss as well as opportunity and excitement.

The loss that comes with empty nesting is multi layered - on a surface level it may be a loss of ruccous around the home, morning catch ups over coffee in the kitchen, or family dinners. Deeper, it could feel like a loss of caregiving, a shift in identity as a parent, and possibly a realisation of the loss of connection to self that can often occur after many years of parenting. So how do we reclaim this connection to ourself? Well this is where the opportunity piece comes in. Opprtunity for a bit of soul searching. A daunting but beautful process. Like a catapiller who can been wrapped up in a parenting cocoon for years, growing, transforming, strengthening, now has the opportunity to emerge as a transformed version and take flight.

Were here to provide support for the emotional and psychological experiences of…

• Empty nesting

• Parenting grownups

• Transitioning into grandparent-hood

• Identity shifts