What To Do With Your Time When The Kids Fly The Coop

At some point, it happens to all of us. One minute, we are chasing toddlers to see what they’ve just put in their mouths, the next minute we are attending high school graduation and watching our babies pack up for their next adventure. This is both a sad and exciting time for everyone, but, as parents, we lose a big chunk of our purpose the day our kids spread their wings.

Today on the Water’s Edge Resort at Bear Lake blog, we offer up advice on how older adults can stay active and engaged when there are no longer children to care for.

Take a Trip

Getting out of town without the kids can be a great way to celebrate your life’s next stage. And even without kids, Mouse Life Today can help you plan an ideal Disney vacation. It’s a great destination at any age, and this resource can help you plan a trip without breaking the bank.

For enjoyable beaches and boating in the summer and great skiing in the winter, check out Water’s Edge Resort at Bear Lake. With attractive resort amenities and many fun activities, empty nesters are sure to find things to enjoy.

Start a business

You’ve always wanted to do something for yourself, but you’ve been too busy caring for your growing family. Now, you face an empty home every evening. Now might be a great opportunity to start your own business. If you do so, form an S Corp so that you can claim any future losses on your taxes. S Corps feature pass-through taxation and additional financial perks for the self-employed. If you don’t know anything about forming a business structure, look up state-specific resources and then use a formation service to sidestep attorney fees.

Organize your home

If you’ve been putting off home organization, you no longer have an excuse. A few things you might do now include clearing out the attic and having a yard sale and, perhaps most importantly, organizing your estate planning documents. MetLife explains that estate documents include insurance policies, bank account information, and, if applicable, info on your heirs and power of attorney. These are important as you age and as your children become adults.  After all, they will likely be the ones responsible for many of your decisions later in life, and you want them to know your wishes. 

Use a PDF organizer to scan and rearrange all of your important papers. You can also separate important pages using this free tool. This way, you can add, remove, and edit what you need, and save it to the cloud so that everyone who needs access has it from anywhere.

Start a community garden

Gardening is not only an excellent pastime that can keep you healthy and well fed, but your green thumb can also help your community. According to the Healthier Steps blog, gardens have many economic advantages and also double as a place of recreation that comes with the bonus benefit of being a positive influence on the environment. You will also have a chance to meet your neighbors, which may just lead to new friendships when you need them the most.

Take up a new hobby

When your kids were little, you encouraged them to draw, paint, and play. You understood the importance of having varied interests as your kids grew and the adults they are now. Well, it’s time for you to find something new that you love. This doesn’t mean that you have to collect model trains or take up an expensive pastime, such as photography. You might try hosting dinner parties, taking up self-defense, or working puzzles. Anything that you can do to keep yourself active and engaged while also enjoying your time alone or with your spouse or partner is something worth looking into now that you have the time.

Sometime between the ages of 40 and 60, your life will change. Your children will leave, and you may find yourself engaging in a late-life marriage or getting to re-know your spouse as a person not a parent. Unfortunately, there’s much more time to dwell on all the negatives now that you’re not running back and forth to sports and the grocery store. Take this new opportunity to keep yourself happy, whole, and healthy. Whether you choose to start a new building, organize your estate documents, or simply take up a new hobby, the choices you make today will have a positive and healthful impact for a lifetime.

Visit Water’s Edge Resort at Bear Lake for a fun and relaxing stay in any season!