Mary Novaria

As seen in Lessons for a struggling empty nester,  from a family of eagles By Mary Novaria   May 22 (iStock) They called it an “accidental fledge.” The 73-day-old bald eagle wasn’t expected to make his first flight for at least another week or two, but while hopping on branches around the nest and flapping his wings, the eaglet slipped, fell to the ground and sent thousands of online viewers into a panic. Was he injured? Would he be safe on his own? Will he ever come back to the nest? And, when nightfall came and he had yet to return, Was he alive? These are the very same questions I asked when my depressed and anxious teenage daughter ran away from home and, later, when she moved out on her own. Even now that she is healthy, married and in her twenties, I am sometimes tempted to ask them because I am a fledgling when it comes to this empty nest thing. Continue reading here...

As seen in the Huffington Post. One of the most humbling things about my kids growing up is realizing that I still have growing up to do myself. I'm a reluctant empty nester. And while I'll always be my kids' mom, having the chicks out of the roost and on their own means I've had to adjust the way I parent. Contrary to the hardwired inclinations that tempt me to coddle and meddle, I'm learning to stay out of their way and let them live their lives as the adults they've become. It's not easy. Sometimes I want to have a tantrum. I swear yesterday I was driving the middle school carpool, but suddenly, somehow, both of my children are in their 20s. They also live 2,000 and 1,600 miles away, which, while gut wrenching at times, just might make it easier for me to live and let live and more difficult for me to become a stalker. This way, I can't drive by to see if their cars are in the driveway, show up with a healthy lunch at their workplace or intro...