The Silence of the Empty Nest

Dear Delyara, When the last child left for university, the 'Storm' hit our house—but it was a storm of absolute silence. My husband and I looked at each other across the dinner table and realized we were strangers. We had spent twenty-five years being 'Mom and Dad,' and we had completely forgotten how to be 'Mark and Sarah.' The storm was the terrifying realization that we had nothing to talk about. The walls felt like they were closing in. We almost walked away from each other. But instead of letting the storm tear the house down, we decided to go back to the 'Crossroads' where we first met. We started dating again, awkwardly and painfully. Our Victoria came on our thirtieth anniversary. We didn't throw a party for the kids; we took a quiet walk on the beach, just the two of us. We realized that the storm had cleared out the noise so we could finally hear each other’s hearts again.