empty nest = hatching plans
My nest is an empty nest. It’s been that way for almost a month now.
I’m a confirmed completist and definitely believe in a Chinese expression that was commandeered by Yoda and translated, fortune-cookie style, as “Do or not do. There is no try,” so I’ve included my husband in the downsizing of household personnel and sent him back to his job in Hong Kong.
I’m afraid any stress relief he got from a month back in the States was probably swiftly overturned. He just spent three weeks living in a 200-square-foot room in a designated “quarantine hotel” on the way back into HK. When he made his plans, quarantine was just seven days, but then Delta happened. I guess you pays your money (in this case, a LOT of it) and you takes your chances….
Only Kermit the Dog has escaped the decluttering of household staff, and since he’s great company, an expert snuggler, a great listener, and a pretty good conversationalist, he gets to stay for now.
Because what else can you do with such a valuable employee?
empty nest = discoveries
And what, you might wonder, am I doing in my empty nest? Well, I’ve made a lot of cool discoveries on the home front:
- A deep cleaning of the house lasts a whole lot longer.
- I can vacuum at 5am if I’ve a mind to. It takes four woman-hours to deep clean our main level, and it’s always taken a huge chunk out of a weekend day; now that I can start early, I still get a full day of R+R in!
- I can barely scrape together enough laundry to justify separating whites from colors.
- I really love parking in the larger garage bay. It’s now mine—all mine.
- The two hooks in the back hall where the kids always hung their jackets are also now mine—all mine.
- The grocery bill is now miniscule, relative to when a teenage boy lived here.
- And I can now cook exactly what I want to eat without taking into consideration said teenage boy’s preference for animal protein and massive quantitities of carbs.
- I can also finish dinner before 5pm so I can follow the advice I give my clients about stopping all food three hours before bedtime!
- Food preparation done on a Sunday can feed me for 7–10 days: 2–3 hours well-spent when they almost completely remove the need to cook three meals a day. This as opposed to last St. Patrick’s Day, when somehow the corned beef and cabbage I cooked—thinking, “Well, at least THIS meal will last us for 2–3 dinners!”—disappeared after I went to bed….
The best discovery, of course, is that my kids still keep in touch daily.
This summer, I was repeatedly told in no uncertain terms and with a curl of the lip, that my son would not be texting me daily in the way his sister does…. He has followed through on that promise and FaceTimes me instead!
So while it’s an empty nest, my heart is full.
empty nest = new plans
Emptying the house has definitely not lifted the entire mental load involved in being the family COO—and it has opened up some cognitive real estate that I can fill with plans for my practice.
Look for details in upcoming emails; for now, here are the plans I’ve hatched for October and the rest of 2021!
EAT™ | your way to health
Tomorrow (October 1, 2021) is the last day to register for the Fall 2021 cohort of my EAT™ | Your Way to Health group coaching program for women burning out in mission-driven work (which, let’s face it, is just about all of us).
- Never worked with me before? Details and link to application (including for a partial scholarship)
- There’s a special offer for those of you who have gone through 1:1 or group coaching with me before—email me for details.
stewarding emotional eating
- The next cohort of my Stewarding Emotional Eating group program launches November 1 and takes you through the holidays. Sounds difficult, but these can be the most triggering of times if you struggle with your relationship with food. Not sure whether the program is for you? You can get a taste of the material (haha) in a free workshop, which is offered three different times in October. Registration is required—pick your date and time below. Yes, there will be a replay—and remember, it’s much more effective when you participate live.
NEW: fl!p your k!tchen™ | the kitchen sessions
Starting in November, join me on Zoom for The Kitchen Sessions!
Curious about what it’s like to meal plan and prep for the week? Come into my (virtual) kitchen once a month and follow along!
As a health coach, professionally-trained chef, and—perhaps most importantly—the COO of a family of four, I have spent a lot of years meal planning and cooking. And that’s what led to me publishing my cookbook, FL!P YOUR K!TCHEN® and a workbook that goes with it.
In these sessions, we’ll spend two hours learning some meal planning, and cooking basics. You’ll get recipes in advance, so you can do your shopping and cook along with me. We’ll end up with 2–3 dishes you can use during the week, and you’ll learn a lot about how to meal plan and prep on your own. Events will be posted on EventBrite, so be sure to follow me there!
Be sure to stay tuned for more on my empty nest adventures—and for what’s happening at Simply: Health Coaching!
