From Empty Nest to Full Purpose: How We Became Covered In Sawdust

It was May of 2022 when things started to shift. Our youngest daughter was graduating from high school and getting ready to leave for college. I was approaching 50 — what we jokingly call “a freshman old person” in our house — and I found myself wondering what came next. The house was quieter, the calendar less full, and I could feel an emptiness growing inside.

I told myself all the positive stories: now I’d have time to grow my business, we’d travel more, I’d get in the best shape of my life, maybe even bring roller skating back like I used to love. I imagined this season would be a fresh, exciting restart. But that’s not how it unfolded.

Instead, I slipped into a fog of anxiety and depression. When the pace of parenting and our busy life suddenly slowed, the sense of purpose went quiet too. My hormones were out of balance, my hair was thinning, and most nights I only had an appetite for one thing: a drink to take the edge off. The business I once enjoyed began to feel like a grind.

My phone became both a lifeline and a trap. I stopped wanting to go places, stopped caring about things I used to love, and felt worn out in every way—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Deep down, though, something in me knew the story wasn’t over yet.