Nobody Prepares You for This Part of Empty Nesting

Nobody Prepares You for This Part of Empty Nesting

From Wonder In The Weeds by Dr. Cristie Ritz-King

June 10, 2026 · 47 min

About this episode

Dr. Cristie Ritz-King discusses the unexpected challenges and grief associated with empty nesting.

This Week’s Weeds: There’s No Buffering Yourself From Empty Nest Grief I’m flying solo this week (Z is off chasing the theater dream; she’ll be back), and it’s fitting because this episode is about exactly that: my kids not being here. Here’s the thing I got wrong about empty nesting. I thought the women who struggled were the ones who’d lost themselves in motherhood. I made sure that wasn’t me: I wrote, taught, got certified in yoga and meditation, and earned a master’s and a doctorate while raising three kids. I judged the sad empty nesters (bratty of me, I know) and assumed I’d be fine. I wasn’t prepared anyway. What I’m grieving isn’t the chaos of little kids (I genuinely don’t miss that). It’s the clearly defined role. The bowling banquets, the snack shop, the PTA, knowing exactly what my job was. For 22 years, everything I pursued fit into the spaces around parenting. Now there’s just space. And no instructions. Add a move to Minnesota where I literally GPS my way home, and you get the moment a friend asked me “so what are you up to now?” and I had no answer. In this episode: * The empty-nest myth I believed (and why preparing didn’t protect me) * Six months of “dogged…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Cristie Ritz-King

Topics covered

  • empty nesting
  • grief
  • parenting
  • self-identity
  • connections
  • personal growth

Keywords

  • empty nest
  • grief
  • parenting
  • self-identity
  • connections
  • personal growth
  • life transitions

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Minnesota

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