Working Yourself Out of a Job

🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟

The demands on parents are great and time consuming; it is no small feat keeping children alive and thriving in today’s modern world. It is exhausting and overwhelming at times…and also hugely rewarding. For many of us, it is the most favorite job of our lifetimes ❤️.

We will always be important in the lives of our children, hopefully meaningfully attached and connected to them. A safe place that they can call “home” or land when they need a hug, a cry, some life advice, or encouragement. Typically in our culture, at some point, kids individuate, launch, or fly the nest in some fashion. Eventually, the goal is to work ourselves out of a job, at least the day to day parenting that is needed for school-aged children. This is a huge transition for parents, especially in this Child-Centered parenting age that we are raising our children in. Much of our own identity and purpose is tied to raising our children. Parents can feel lost, melancholy, and untethered as they find themselves with a shift in identity.

Ask Yourself:

Was I excited to fly the coop? How did my parents respond to my launch?
Can I see my child’s growing independence before my eyes?
Do I want my child worried about my sadness about them growing up?
Do I want my child to hold back on their own dreams because they know I’m struggling with their independence?
What other jobs/or parts of my identity do I want to develop?
What do I want homecoming to feel like to them?

Slow down, feel your grief. You’ve loved parenting your flock, how can you envision them launching while you find other ways of tending to your nest?