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How To!: Fill an Empty Nest (Encore)

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Slate

Business, News, Society & Culture

3.91.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Susan never really got over saying goodbye to her eldest daughter, who left for college four years ago. She knew it would be sad, but she didn't expect to be nauseous. Now her youngest is applying to college, and she's already dreading drop-off next fall which makes her feel like a "pathetic loser." What can Susan do to prep herself for more heartbreak and a completely empty nest? On this episode of How To!, Amanda Ripley brings on Kelly Corrigan, best-selling author and host of the podcast Kelly Corrigan Wonders. She recently dropped her youngest daughter off at college, which she wrote about in an essay for the New York Times called "How to Let Go of Your Irreplaceable, Unstoppable Daughter." She shares some hard-earned wisdom about how to handle major life transitions with grace. 

If you liked this episode, check out: "How To Get Your Kid to Finally Grow Up"

Do you have a question with no easy answers? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey, how to listeners.

0:03.2

This week we're bringing you a very special episode because of the time of year it is,

0:08.2

which is the time of year where school is beginning, which means that for some of us,

0:12.5

it is the time of year where our children are leaving home.

0:16.1

And if you have young children, it's probably hard for you to imagine that this will ever

0:18.7

happen.

0:19.7

But as they say, the days are long, but the years are short.

0:23.3

And this especially hits home for me because my daughter is leaving home tomorrow.

0:30.8

Her older brother, my son, two years older, is already in New York, living there and

0:35.6

she's going to go and then after that, we will have an empty nest.

0:41.1

It's very hard for me to articulate the feelings around it, but the good news is I don't

0:45.5

have to because this episode, forthcoming, will talk all about it and we're really excited

0:50.2

to share it with you.

0:51.2

So thanks for listening and for those parents that are facing this or are about to face

0:56.0

this.

0:57.0

I just want to let you know you can do it and we've got you.

1:02.2

So I guess what you're saying is me turning to my then 14 year old daughter and saying

1:09.2

to her, okay, you need to get pregnant at 16 and stay home forever.

1:14.8

That would be like, that was bad advice.

1:18.4

I was joking, but what are we going to do with our time and energy, you know, how many

1:23.4

dogs can you have?

1:28.0

Welcome to How To.

...

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