As many of you know, my son and only child left for college over a year ago. The term for my new stage of life had been coined fifty years or so back as "Empty Nester," because, long ago, the sole focus of a woman's life used to be childrearing, so when the child became an adult and moved away, she was expected to have some sort of identity crisis.
However, while there is clearly a transition, childrearing was not my sole identity, so I decided to coin a new term. I chose "Post-Domestic," because I am no longer am a full-time employee with the job "mom" to go along with whatever full-time employment I have had as "head of household." (I also use "single mom" judiciously, since while that states both my marital and parental statuses, it in no way conveys my financial responsibilities.)
I suspect stay-at-home dads will also appreciate avoiding the grief-stricken visual of "empty nest."
Use it at will.
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