Good Life Project - Thrive in an Empty Nest: The "Open Door" Strategy for Lasting Happiness | Gretchen Rubin

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

Your kids leaving isn’t an ending; it’s an open door to a more intentional version of you. Many of us spend decades organizing our entire identities around our children, only to feel a staggering sense of loss when the house goes quiet.In this conversation, we explore why the term "empty nest" is so limiting and how to navigate the "forced reckoning" of midlife transitions without losing your sense of purpose.My guest is Gretchen Rubin, one of the world's most influential observers of happiness and human nature. She is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers including The Happiness Project and Life in Five Senses, and the host of the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast.What you’ll discover in this episode:A simple linguistic shift that changes how you view your children’s independenceThe "Book vs. Tree" personality framework that explains why you and your partner might be clashing over the futureA 30-second "identity test" to see if you are at risk for a rocky life transitionThe "Minimum Acceptable Contact" rule for keeping a healthy bond with adult children without oversteppingHow to use "clutter clues" to rediscover a passion you abandoned years agoIf you’ve ever felt like your world is shrinking as your children’s worlds expand, this conversation offers the roadmap to reclaim your space and your joy. Press play to start your next chapter.You can find Gretchen at: Website | Instagram | Happier with Gretchen Rubin - Podcast | Episode TranscriptNext week, we're sharing a really meaningful conversation with Michael Pollan about the elusive nature of consciousness and why it is currently under siege. Michael shares why our awareness is the most precious thing we own and how we can reclaim our attention in an age of constant distraction.Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the WheelVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So imagine this. You've just finished the college drop off. You're driving home. And for the first time in 18 or 20 years, the backseat is empty. The house is quiet, too quiet. For some of us, that silence feels like freedom. And for others, it feels like just a gaping hole. We have called this the emptiness for generations, but my friend Gretchen Rubin thinks that's a terrible way to describe a season of life that's actually full of opportunity. Gretchen is one of those rare people who can take a complex human struggle and find a hidden gear that just kind of makes it work. She's the author of The Happiness Project and Life in Five Senses, and today we're sitting down to talk about what she calls the open door transition. And we explore why some of us are what she calls book people who crave reinvention while others are tree people who need deep roots and how that difference can actually cause total chaos in a marriage once the kids are gone. We also talk about the practical and sometimes

awkward new rules for tracking, texting, staying close to your adult kids without becoming a burden. So excited to share this conversation with you. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is Good Life Project. Gretchen Rubin. Hello. So good hanging out with you. I was remembering this conversation that you and I started. You've now sort of like turned into much more of a public conversation where you are telling me, we're hanging out at a little coffee shop on the upper side, and you're like, I'm just really thinking a lot about this whole thing about like when our kids leave the house. And the word wrapped around it that we've all learned for generations is emptiness, and you're like, that feels so not good to me.

Right, right. Nobody likes that term. Everybody agrees it's a terrible phrase, but it sticks because it does capture something. Right. So we're going to dive a lot into this and how you create a really cool. reframe around it, but why do you think it's stuck so long? Because it is, I don't think anybody likes it. Nobody likes it, but I think, well, first of all, once it gets in everybody's head, it's hard to replace it. But there is this idea of like, that it's empty, you know, that there is this sense that something has changed and there has been a departure. And a lot of people talk about, like, the loud, quiet and the empty seat at the dining room table. And, like,

no one's like running up and down the stairs. And so the idea of like the emptiness. But you know what I just noticed today for the first time and it blew my mind is empty nest sounds like emptiness. Ah. The emptiness of the empty nest. And I think that's what we have to like really challenge ourselves is like it's space, it's opportunity. And then the nest is the metaphor that for children. And you know, you want your house to be like a cozy nest. The emptiness thing is really interesting, right? Because I wonder if your brain almost just like here does it as emptiness and it like seeds it differently. I don't know. I was like, how has nobody pointed that out before to me? That's pretty well. But I mean, on the one hand, I feel like some people hear that phrase and it's associated with freedom. Yeah. It's like, oh, finally. And then other people hear that phrase and it's associated with sorrow. Yeah. And maybe yes. Maybe it's just a yes and type of thing. But I know, you know, I was thinking back. to when you have a 24-year-old daughter.

And thinking back to when we dropped her off at school, you know, college. And there's, you know, we're tiny little family. There's three of us and we drove up and dropped her off. And she didn't want me coming up to her room for like the final drop off. So my wife kind of brought her up and they're up there and I'm hanging out in the car downstairs. And like 15, 20 minutes later, my wife comes down and she finds me literally snot sobbing in the car. Absolutely. And what was going through your mind?

What was going through your mind? I was just like this, things will never be the same. Things will never be the same. Yeah. I mean, is that what you, because you've been talking to so many people about this now, is that common? Everything is common. Everything is normal. And that's part of what's confusing is every reaction.

Everything is false. Like every rate, some people feel so free and some people feel so abandoned. And some people feel like they're close. closer to their children when their children have some independence. Like some children are very difficult. And so it's actually easier, like, it's easier to be close to them when there's some space. Some are, feel bereft. But it's funny that you say that because I remember when we were driving, we did the drop off, driving home, we would look like, we had like a three and a half hour drive. And, you know, it was just sort of silent and quiet. And Jamie said to me, you know, she'll be fine. And I said,

I know she'll be fine. She'll be fine and we'll be fine. But it will never be the same. And he said, no, it will never be the same. And so I think part of it is the point in it's of just the end of a season of life. Even apart from now you can travel. Everything else, whether it's good or bad, it is the end of a season of life. And it's always hard to see things come to an end. And it's tied up in our own mortality, our own sense of our own lives kind of ratcheting up a notch. You know. I mean, it's really interesting what you bring up also about the fact that some people, like, we make assumptions, you know, so I'm like, oh, this must be devastating for everybody. And maybe it is for a lot of people in their own way. But maybe there are also, there are family situations where there's a lot of tension. There's a lot of discomfort. There's a lot of strife. And relationships aren't great.

And in that context, maybe it's actually something where everybody exhales at that moment. It kind of says. Well, I think that's a really important point. And that's one thing that I think is important for people to remember and it's maybe comforting is that you may be experiencing it as a negative, but other people can experience it as a positive. And so I think it's helpful to realize, like, there are other ways to see it. And like one of my, the most kind of touching things somebody told me was I was talking to a father. And he said, I had a really bad divorce. It was very contentious.

And a big issue was custody. And we fought about it all the time. But then my daughter went to college. And although I hadn't been the kind of. a father that I always imagined that I would be, now I'm back on track. I'm a dad just like all the other dads. I can come to town when I want. I could take her out to dinner with her roommates. Like to him, it was a restoration of like his vision of fatherhood. And so I think it's just comforting for people to feel like, well, for me, I'm feeling a big loss. But maybe for other

people this was working out. And somehow there's sort of a strange comfort in knowing that there are different ways to experience things. They're not just, oh my gosh, I've got a giant gaping hole in my life that nothing can fill. Well, you feel that way and that's important, but, or maybe you're married to somebody who doesn't feel that way, allows us to show more compassion to other people and ourselves because we see people are having a whole confusing range of responses. That brings up something really interesting also, right? Because we assume that our response is going to be pretty similar to other people, but even within a relationship, you know, like if you're partnered with somebody at that moment, you may be experiencing it totally different

than they are. Yes. And that's very confusing. And there's something that's called splitting ambivalence. What's that? So this is when, because it's confusing and you're feeling like things that like opposites, you split the ambivalence. So one person is like, this is so sad. It'll never be the same. Our family is gone.

Well, I miss her so much. And then the other person's like, but this is great. We wanted her to be independent. This is like all our dreams are come true. This is great. Now we can do what we want instead of both people saying like, well, in some ways it's good and in some ways it's bad because it's kind of hard. You know how we always want to be buying.

It's like we just want things to be like, yes or. Make it clear. Black go away. Yes or no. And so they split the ambivalence and then they polarize each other because the more one person says like, how are you not seeing this loss? The other person is like, how are you not understanding that this is okay? And so it is, I think it can be really surprising in a couple where one person, I know you love a good distinction, Jonathan. So let me, let me try this out on you. So they're book people and tree people. Book people are people who like to start a new chapter. They turn over a new leaf and they think, oh, I'll reinvent myself. And like they like that. You know, like a friend of mine said, everybody should reinvent themselves every 10 years. And so they like that feeling of like turning a page. Tree people want to be rooted in place. They want to grow and flourish, but they want to stay rooted. And so what happens sometimes is that you have people that are sort of acting like tree people because their child keeps them in one place. But then the kids are going to. But then the kids are going to. gone and the book person says, this is great. Let's move to Portugal. Let's move to the beach. Like, let's shake things up. Let's get an RV and drive around the country. The other person is

like, what are you talking about? This is our home. These are our friends. These are our memories. Like, how could you leave that behind? Because they didn't understand this about themselves. And neither's right. Neither's wrong. But sometimes in a couple, it can cause a lot of attention. I could totally see that. Somebody's like, oh, freedom. Yes, exactly. And the other person is, no, like, we get to now just like root deeper here and go deeper into community and spend more time with friends and join this group and that group. Yes, exactly. And I want to yeah. And you can see how they could get really frustrated with each other. But, but sometimes I just, you know how it is. If you have a vocabulary to talk about these different, sometimes it's easier. It makes

it less personal. It's just like, oh, I understand why you're thinking about things the way you are. And here's why I'm seeing things in a different way. And let's talk about it rather than like, you're heartless or you're so rigid, you know, which is how it can. sometimes. Don't you see what's really happening here? No, no, no, no. And they're both right. Of course. Both people are right. And both people, you know, they both have, they're both coming from a place of sincerity. Okay, so book or tree. I'm a tree person. I'm a And I'm lucky because I'm married to a tree person. He is such a tree person that we literally live around the corner from where he grew up. And I mean, you do not even cross a street. It's like 70 steps or something. He was like, maybe after the kids leave, we live in New York City. He said, we moved on 10. I'm like, just to be clear, we. We're not moving more than 10 blocks in any direction. I just, like, want to, like, and he was like, okay, because we're both tree. How about you?

You've got more of that book, yeah. You're a reinvention person. You've had many incarnations. Like, if I'm doing the same thing or feeling like I'm the same, in the same space, or for too long, I get really antsy. Do you feel stagnant or restless or stuck? For me, I think, and it's interesting, right? Because we both have a lot of creative energy in us. We both love to create new things.

Yes. Like, there's constantly ideas popping. I do love a sense of ritual and routine. And I do love to feel like I'm reading community. But when it comes to sort of like who I am and how I show up in the world and where I'm devoting my energy, I love the energy of reinvention. You are the most willing to break things that start over of almost anybody that I know. You're always on the kind of bleeding edge of whatever.

And you're very entrepreneurial too. Yeah. And that's always been a part of me since I was a kid. You've moved to many different kinds of places, not even from like city to city, but like city to rural to suburban to mountains now. Mountains. Yeah. But is your wife the same way? You know, I think, and so I'm curious now with your theory, I think she's become more so over time.

So is your theory that we kind of are who we are and we kind of stay that way or can't it change over time? I think we are who we are, but some people are more like more in one case. camp. I'm very extreme on one camp. No, in fact, I remember somebody once said to me, if you didn't live in New York City, where would you live? And I was like, probably I live in Kansas City. That's where I grew up. That's such a tree answer. But then I think some people are more adaptable or they can bring their own weather to the picnic. They can find happiness moving or they could stay. And so I think it's, I don't know that it's that they've changed or learned, but maybe they just always, they have the aptitude of finding the good in both.

It's funny. As you're describing that, literally a conversation I had with a friend popped into my head where she was saying, if I'm not a completely different person every seven years, I'm failing at life. See, I mean, but the funny thing is about that, though, is then they'll say, like, and that is a universal policy that everybody should adopt. And if you don't feel that way, too, you're stagnant, you're not moving forward, whatever. Instead of saying, like, I'm the kind of person who feels that way. Other people do not feel that way, you know, or you feel bad about yourself because they're like, well, I don't reinvent my way. myself every seven years, but that's just a very book answer. Totally. But I think also, like, as the more I'm thinking about this as you're talking about it, I feel like probably our association with Booker Tree is we feel it on such an identity level, a core level, that the notion of thinking that people could feel otherwise, feels almost alien to us. And you're right, because so many things are like that where they go so deep that you're kind of like, well, how could you possibly feel a different way or

choose or embrace the way you are and not feel like you should want to be like this. But, you know, one of the things I always like to do is, is to try to have language around things so that people can see that, oh, of course, it's like, it's natural that a person might feel this way. And it's natural that somebody might feel very differently. But this is the kind of thing when children leave, many things become revealed. Many things come to the surface, many things that have been ignored or just haven't come up, start to reveal. themselves, and that's why I'm interested. As somebody who studies happiness and self-knowledge, it's like a time of a forced reckoning. And so to me, that's interesting.

And we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. So, okay, so this, so that here's where this is taking me then. So, you know, we, my wife and I and her daughter, when she came, spent 30 years in New York City. Grew up just outside of the city, went to school in the city, and just never left. our entire adult lives up to five years ago, New York City. You know, our daughter's born and raised, like she is New York through and through. We had a sense probably five years before we left that we were getting done with the city. And we talked about it, and we looked at other places.

But we made a decision to stay in the city, and a not insignificant part of that was we have a great kid, we're really close with her. She was flourishing, doing really well. in the place where we were and she loved this place and we didn't want to disrupt that. I would imagine a lot of parents make decisions based on the fact that like they really want their kids to thrive. Yes. They see their kids thriving in the place that they're and they're like, okay, so we can

kind of like hold off. We kind of know beneath this, we're done-ish, but we got another five years, another seven years. Like we can deal with that. But you're almost like telling yourself the story of I'm going to convince myself that I'm, I'm this other orientation for now because there's strong enough justification. Well, here's what I would say to that is if in your mind you're thinking, well, we're here for five years because our children are doing really well. But at the end of that time,

I'd like to move. Tell your spouse now because I know a lot of people who have moved. And it's like sometimes one is really intent on moving. And the other one is more like your wife like, well, I could just as soon stay. But if you really want to go, I can go. But don't spring it on somebody, don't just assume that they're going to have the same reaction because I think a lot of people are truly astonished. They've never mentioned it before, but they're like, oh, this is great. Now we can move to the beach. And the other person is like, what are you talking about? This is the kind of thing. It's in your mind. Start talking about it early, saying this is what the future, I think, could look like for us. And let's start talking about it because you're setting

yourself up for a huge conflict. If at a time of major change, you bust out with some other huge major change that someone's not mentally prepared for. That is such a good point because the change itself, I mean, a kid leaving the house is wildly disruptive and destabilizing probably for a lot of people. So then you pile on top of it like one partner coming saying, and let's just blow up our whole geographic point of reference here and go somewhere entirely different. But if that's your plan, if you're sort of like, like I know, because I live in New York City, I know a lot of people who, they lived in New York City, in the city, they moved out to the suburbs when they had a kid, And they all said, I'll be back, and some are and some aren't.

But for the ones that came back, they kind of had to talk about it. They kind of had to make a plan for it. It's a huge deal to move. And the ones that have done it successfully are the ones that we're talking about it well in advance and thinking about it, preparing their children. Some children don't really care about their hometowns or whatever. Some children are super sentimental. Well, some kids are super sentimental about seeing their high school friends and all that.

And then there are the city kids that or, you know, some cities have kids that it's hard to take a kid out of a big city. Yeah. I mean, I remember. So we were like, we were pandemic transplants. We didn't actually, you know, even though we kind of knew, we had a sense that eventually, like we'd like to be somewhere else. Even when our daughter went off to college, we weren't thinking about leaving. We weren't thinking about moving. We were like, ah, we still wanted a place.

This is her home. Right. We wanted a place for her to come back to. And it's not just our apartment and us. This is the place that she knows. And maybe there's something about like New York City kids in particular. I don't know. But at least, you know, like our kid, she absolutely, you know, she had a love affair with the city itself.

Yes, mine too. You know, like really, really absolutely loved it and explored it from the tiniest age. I think because in New York, you know, our kids are bopping around on subways and buses in middle school and they're super independent. So we stuck around and we had no intention of leaving probably until she would finish college. We're like, let's just keep sticking it out. So she has this place to come back to. And then the pandemic hit. She got sent back to us in New York.

We rode out the early part of the pandemic here. And then we just all got to a point where we're like, it's getting really. We just need to be somewhere else so we can be outside and breathe a little bit. So we went to Colorado thinking we'd be there for two, three months tops. We'd come back to New York, like during the holidays. We'd like settle back in. I kind of remember that state where you were coming and going. Right.

And we just kept extending and extending and extending. I mean, we calculated at one point in the first 18 months. We had been in like 18 different Airbnbs and rentals because we kept pushing more and pushing more. And we were living out of basically our car and a cargo box on top of it with storage facilities. And it hit a point where we're like, what are we actually doing here? And by staying in this almost like, you know, liminal space, are we damaging us? Are we damaging our relationship? Are we causing harm to our kid?

because is she's just feeling really untethered. Yeah. Like, where is home? Yeah, and there were times where she literally said to us? She's like, people are asking me, like, where do you live? And she's like, I don't know how to answer them. Interesting. Now, but was it super emotional when you gave up your New York City apartment?

I don't think so only because we didn't think we were leaving the city. You know, I think we were like, oh, we're tapping out for a couple of months and we'll be back. When we eventually decided out there to sign up. a lease for a house. Right, right, really put down roots. Then we were all kind of like, oh, this was a different decision than any of us expected. And it took another couple of years before we sort of said, maybe this is actually where we live now. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, that's part of remote work is I think there's a lot more possibilities and that's exciting, but it can also mean conflict within a family because people have a different idea of what they want. And again,

it was very surreal for us because we did all. this during the pandemic. Sure. So all the regular, the normal rules were just gone. Yeah, yeah. No, that's, yeah, and it just shook everything up. Yeah. And for our daughter also, you know, she ended up actually taking a gap semester and then transferring schools in the middle of it. So everything was just up in the air. So when we think about this whole concept of the, like, the season of empty nesting, let's talk about the language itself also. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This was the thing that got our conversation started years back when you were really like starting to think about this. like, there's better languaging around this, too. Take me into this.

One of the things that's really surprised me is how much literally vocabulary matters and metaphors matter. Like, it really matters if you practice piano or you play piano. It matters if you network or you engage with your colleagues. It matters these subtle changes. And so I was trying to, I was searching for a metaphor that I thought was more positive and kind of, but kind of captured the vibe that I wanted to associate with it. So I thought of things like better bandwidth because a lot of people talk about they just have more bandwidth for everything, time, energy and money for like the things that are important to them. I thought of like open seas because I had this like vision in my mind of like a boat sort of like taking off. And then I landed on open door, which I really like as I've lived with it for a while because it captures this idea of coming and going because my daughters are coming and going.

But they're leaving, but they're also coming back. And I think that's something that people often say it's not empty. They're coming back. They are coming back. But also my husband Jamie and I, we can also leave. The door is open for us. Like we're more free to come and go. It's hospitality. It's the idea of threshold because it is a threshold. You talk about liminality. It's also kind of like, you know, if you're a manager and you have an open door policy, it's like, I'm not micromanaging you. But if you want to stop by and hear what I have to say, my door's always open. I think that's kind of an ideal. which is like, okay, you're going off and being independent, but I'm here. And if you want to stop by and get some counsel from me, I'm always available to you. It really captured a lot of the different aspects that I sort of wanted to hold on to as I was going through the stages, the open door transition. I love that language also because emptiness feels like it's one direction. It does. They leave. Right. Yeah, they don't come back. You're left behind. You're bereft. And I think that's part of it is like feeling left behind. And I do think that that's one of of the things that's really important for parents, which is, what do you have going for yourself? Like, what's new? What's fresh? Because it's one thing to be the one who leaves, and it's another thing to be the one who stays. And if you don't, like, reinvent what's going on for you, it is very easy to feel like there's just a loss or a gap instead of feeling, oh, now all these new things are coming in. I want to go deeper into that, though, right? Because I feel like so many parents, a solid chunk of your identity becomes subsumed in the role of parent.

Yes. You know, and to the point where if you ask people, you know, like further into parenting, who are you? What they'll immediately come to mind is who they used to be but no longer are because they feel like the role of parent has just completely overtaken that deep percent. Well, it's so interesting that you bring this up because one of the things I'm trying to do is come up with like a list of questions where like if you answer yes to like one or more these questions, you might be at risk for like a pretty rocky transition. So be careful. And one of the questions that I put on is, can you describe yourself to a stranger without referring to your child or

is your role as parent? Like, how would you do that? Yeah. Because I think for some people, they're kind of like, well, I don't know what I would, how I would describe myself to a stranger. Right. It's interesting also, right, because if you ask that question, somebody's joining us for this conversation, right? And they just planted that that question in their head. And if the first thing is, like, well, I'm kind of struggling to define myself beyond my role as a parent, my concern is that the immediate response to that is going to be self-judgment and shame. Right, right. Like, why have I lost track with myself? Yeah, yeah. You know, that's a really good point. And when I talk to people about it, I think there is a feeling of like, I lost myself. And now, you know, that's a really good point. And I do, when I talk to people about it, I think there is a feeling of,

And now it's over and like, how did this happen? Or I should not have allowed it to happen. But on the other hand, like, the identity of parent is one that is valorized and very respected and is very important to you for your whole life. So, again, there's that tension where, on the one hand, it's like an incredibly important part of your identity. But then it also can't be your only then. It's like with happiness, I was realizing, I was trying to figure out this tension. And then I realized, oh, it's like one of these things where both are true, like, they're opposites, but both are true, which happens so much. And one of them is like, I want my daughters to know that they are essential to my happiness. They are the most important things in the world to me. And also, they are not essential to my happiness. I have other things in my life that are just as important. Both are true. And I don't think they want to be responsible for my happiness. Right. It's a big weight to carry. It's just such a huge way to carry. It's like I need to perform in a certain way so that my mom. or my dad are like happy.

Oh, yeah. Somebody said to me, well, the only thing that's important to me is that my son is happy. And I'm like, that's too much of a burden for him. You can't make him responsible for your happiness.

Anyway, but on the other hand, I want them to be like, oh, of course, I'm the most important thing in the world of my mother. It both have to be true. And it's confusing. Yeah, no, it definitely is. So somebody is at that point,

and then they ask that question, you know, like this question, you like describe yourself without actually referencing that role. And they're really struggling to do it. what do you say to them? Well, there's a lot of things that you can do to, like, get back in touch with an identity. So, for example, one thing, I think one of the most appealing ones or the most available ones

is to return to an earlier identity. It's very easy to lose touch with identities. So you think about things like, yeah, what did you do for fun when you were 10 years old? What did you do for when you were 20? Here's a tell. Is there something around in your life that you never used? use. Okay.

But you won't relinquish. Oh, that's interesting. I have two friends who had drum sets. One had a drum set in his office. Uh-huh. And one had a drum set like in this room off his living room. And they're big, right? Like that's a big opportunity costs.

And they're not that appealing. It's not like a cool guitar. Yeah, you're like a violin on a stand or something like that. It's like, and I, and I, to both. And you know, well, you know, my side hustle. is trying to bully my friends into clearing their clutter. And so both of them I really pushed on them. I'm like, do you play this?

Like, what's going on? And neither one of them could let go of it. And to me, that's important. What does this mean to you? Why do you need to hold on to this? Maybe that, that to me, is like a very powerful clue that it's something to return to. Maybe it's not the drumming,

but what does the drumming stand for in your mind? What is it that it's holding for you that you're not tapping in, to, but you're also not letting go of. Right. So that's a clue that you could use. Or like you've got tennis rackets, but you never play tennis. Or you have a lot of art supplies, but you never do art.

Or you keep reading books about creativity, but you're never actually like doing your, writing your own project. That's a great question. I would imagine also that it could get a little bit muddled because sometimes the things we hold on to, there's like a sentimentality to it. Yeah. Rather than an attachment to sort of like a sense of. past identity, and you've got to be able to tease that out a little bit. That's an excellent point,

right? Because is it like, oh, this is this concert t-shirt that's just like kind of a memento for me, or is it somehow, what does it signify? You're right, right? All these things. It's like a whole period of self-examination, which I think is why this is such a valuable time, if you really push yourself to do these, like gain the wisdom that you can. Yeah. I wonder part of what you see going on here as you talk to people about this too is that for some people part of the the maybe even subconscious intention behind just really dropping into the role of parent is you feel good about it you feel strong about it like you said there's a lot to be celebrated if you look at every bio that I have publicly right now it starts with with dad it's like before any of my professional

things it's like dad husband publish author maker blah la yada so I like I want I want to be known first and foremost yeah for my role of my family right I'm proud of it. But I also wonder if there are some relationships and some family dynamics where we drop into a particular family role, a parenting role. And over time, or maybe even before that, the dynamic within, like, the adults in the relationship isn't great. But you gain the ability to say, like, I'm going to compartmentalize. And like, there is just one thing I'm going to pour myself into. Yes. Absolutely pour myself into. Yes. And maybe the other person's pouring themselves into work or something like that at the same time. And it's enough of, oh, I'm busy

doing X or I'm busy doing Y, that you never have to deal with the fact that the fiber of the actual relationship has been afraid for a really long time. And you're not sure what's left there. And then when a kid leaves the house, all of a sudden, okay, so if that identity, that thing that is allowed us to compartmentalize and not deal with the central thing, we can't point to it anymore in a meaningful way. If you see sort of like in this moment also, people are starting to say, okay, so what is there for us now? Right. No, it's very common. And it's interesting, like, the different forms it takes. So one person was like, my wife is very difficult and she tends to shut down if she like doesn't get her way. And I just would sort of go along with her to create a like

a happy atmosphere for my children. But now that they're gone, like, I really can't be bothered to deal with it. You know what I mean? So it's kind of like, I don't want to do the work that you take if it's not for the benefit of like family life. There's people where they, you know, I talked to a guy who said something like my wife was always really interested in the children and like when we would like sit around, we would always talk about their friends, their activities. And he said, that was fine. I enjoyed that too. But now she's interested in what I'm doing. And she's asking me questions, and I'm really enjoying that. So for him, it was positive.

It's like, okay, this is a good thing. But then there are people that are like, now I'm really, or there are people who say, oh, you know, now this person just wants to go off and be. But sometimes happens is that one person has taken a part-time role or not work to the fullest extent that they could because they've been sort of doing, like managing the household. And they want to go full on and work. They want to travel for work. They want to push themselves.

They say, oh, now this is my time. And the other person might be saying, oh, I'm getting near retirement. Like, I kind of want to, I want to travel. Like, let's do some fun things together now that we don't have the kids holding. So there are all these ways there people can be going in different directions, but not realize it until the kids are gone and then it's all exposed. Yeah. I mean, it sounds like a thing that we keep coming back to then is this notion of the importance of probably seeing a date coming. You see it coming?

Right. Not waiting until the day. 18 years in advance. It's like, this is not a surprise. Right. It's like a year or two or maybe longer, start to have conversations way earlier than we generally ever do. Yeah. Just to say like, what are you worried about? You know, it's funny. I don't know that people always are good judges of even what they'll think. Right, at the time when it actually happens. Yeah. You know, it was like that with parented, where you were sort of like, I have no idea, like, how I'll deal with this. Like, you honestly don't know what you'll be like. I remember being and kind of had some trepidation about that.

I remember a very wise friend, I said something that I said her about that, and she said, you will still be you. And as simple as it is, that was so comforting to me, because I was like, I've seen people change so much in parenthood. It was kind of scary. No. But I think with this too, it's like, but I think you could start to talk about, like,

are you envisioning a move? Do you think that we'll move? Will we downsize? Will we upsize? Do you think we'll, do you envision doing something like getting a dog? because you should let me know. Do you feel like you're going to be working more?

Do you feel like you're going to change jobs? There's so many things that, yeah, you could at least try to sketch out the major, like the major things. You could try to predict. You could at least talk about it. And maybe somebody has a thought of like they're curious about something, even if they're not sold on it. They're just like, huh, be interesting to maybe think about what would be like to do this or change this about my work or live in a different place or split our time or something like that. Right, right. Like we could just go.

look and see what let's go state let's go there for a week and see if you like it or whatever yeah yeah you could explore it the idea is to try to do it as a team and to have a feeling of like we're both in it together and like we want to figure out a way for both of us to thrive rather than people feeling isolated in their own experience just spring it on you hey yeah yeah yeah no it's it's or people and if they're very different like my husband and I are both like really love to work so really a challenge for us is just not to work all the time because one of the good things about children is they sort of force you to take time off and take vacations and not work on the weekends and stuff. So that's been our issue. But you could imagine that if one person's like,

oh, now, great, I can work so much more. And the other person's like, no, now we can play. Yeah, friction. Right. So that would be the kind of thing that maybe you could see that coming in advance. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. Let's talk about policies towards our kids. When we think about, okay, so maybe they've left for, let's not assume that they're going to college, right? But maybe it's just time for them to leave the house. Maybe they've turned 18 or maybe they're traveling the world. Maybe they're starting a business, whatever.

Or they're at community college. They live at home, but they're just out all the time. So they're living in an independent life even though they're sort of under your roof. Yeah. There's, the college drop-up is just like the most blunt example of there are many times when this could happen. Right. So whatever it looks like for you, what are some of the things that we should be thinking about in terms of agreements or understandings that we have with our kids about what this might look like? Well, one of the things that is very tricky about today is tracking. This is a huge issue. Life 360, Find My, things like that. And I think that for many parents, because they can supervise a little bit more or feel like they're supervising, they feel like it's their responsibility to do that.

And then they're really up in their kid's business. Tell me what you think, Jonathan. I'm like, can I, this is a single person in the world, say, I declare that once a week is enough to be sufficient of a contact? Now, this is back in the day. This is what people who are parents now probably did as college-age kids or they were out, which is once a week you were supposed to call. And everybody sort of accepted that. Now, today, of course, some people are texting a million times a day.

But what is the minimum acceptable amount? Right, which is going to be totally different based on the person and also totally, there's probably expectations from parents and kids are totally different. No, it's like the scene from Annie Hall. One mother said to me, like, oh, my God, I'm a strange friend. my son. I was like, oh, what happened? She goes, you know, I, he texts me maybe two or three times a week. I never hear from him. And then I talked to another mother. I'm like, how's it going? She goes, oh, it's great. You know, I hear from him, you know, a couple times a week. It's all going

well, and it's like, okay, so it is the expectation. So I think you want to talk to your child about, like, well, what is your expectation? I think a really good thing to say to a child is, if I text you, all you have to do is give me, like, an emoji, like a thumbs up emoji, and that is just like, I am answering my phone. I am in a state of a state of, of life where it is possible for me to read my phone and send you like an emoji from time to time. And especially like kids know, like they have a really worried mom. They have a really frantic dad. Like, they know what you're like. So talk to them about what would allow you to let go of the reins a little bit more, but still in a way that feels acceptable to both. But what some parents do

is they say, I'm really anxious. You need to respect my anxiety and give me the reassurance I need. It's like, no, that anxiety is on you. There's a limit where, okay, but what is the acceptable minimum? That's why I think we need to sort of figure that out. That all lands with me. Talk to me about the tracking thing, though, because I think a lot of parents, it's inconspicuous. It's not a big deal. When the kid's young, like everyone in the family, like the fine, I.

And it's cozy. It's sweet. It's just nice. Oh, they'll be home in 10 minutes. Yeah, no, it's handy. There's nothing nefarious or overbearing about it. But then when your kid moves into the next season, it's nice season, it's nice. and that can change. Well, and let me give you an example. So somebody said to me, well, I said to my son,

what are you doing this weekend? And he said, not much. But then I looked on Life 360. And then I saw he went to a party an hour away from campus. So he lied to me. And I'm like, I wouldn't say that he lied to you. I would say he didn't feel like describing what he was doing to his mom. Maybe he didn't think it was much. Maybe it came up last minute. What's your right to be informed? That's an appropriate thing for a kid in college to do, and you've put him in a situation where you're saying that he's deliberately deceiving you. That's a big possible point of conflict between you and a child, and it's kind of something that you have created.

If you didn't have that, you wouldn't have known. What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over. And, yeah, there's a lot of things our college kids are doing, which were probably just much better off not knowing that they're doing it. As our parents were better off, like having no one's knowing what we do. 100% I'm a lot of people. I'm like, well, how did you do this with your parents? And they're like, oh, my parents do nothing. Right. Because we didn't have all this stuff. Because we didn't have all this stuff. So everybody's trying to find like what is the right balance for my kid. And of course, they're wildly different. Some kids need a lot of help and supervision. Some kids are like asked for too much. Like they're calling all the time, texting all the time. That's hard to manage. Like, shows up in all different ways. So there's no. I mean, do you feel like it makes sense to just have a sit down conversation with your kid about this? Absolutely. It's like, what do you think is appropriate? And a lot of cases are very reasonable, you know. And by the way, they know how to trick it. Right. Just turn it off when you do. You turn it off. You leave your phone. You just kind of. I mean, there's all kinds of things to do. And they're going to be way better at figuring that out than you are. So I think some people, it's a tool. But some people just don't manage it in a way that's good for them or the relationship. So having that conversation, I think, I agree. I think it's so important. Let's wind the tape forward a little bit. Kids out of the house for a bit. for whatever reason, whether

and then they return home. Maybe they return home for summer break or for winter break, or maybe it's just a season of life where they've gone like job change, job loss, relationship ends, trauma, whatever it may. And they kind of want to be home for a bit to get their feet under them

and that could be anywhere from a few weeks to months or maybe longer years, especially now. I mean, I think we've both seen the stats. You know, the number of kids returning to the home and staying for significant amounts time is going up significantly. What are the big things that you see that we need to pay attention to in those moments? Well, part of it is, I think, again, it comes back down to a conversation about what are expectations like,

what is the person expected to contribute to the household finances? What are the rules about things like curfew? What are the things about, like, noise and chores? Because it's like you're not coming back and getting to be like a 14-year-old where I'm doing the laundry and I'm doing the grocery shopping. and to just like really talk those things through because it can become a big sore spot. And it's hard if a child isn't just like has not have like even the consideration of like being in the house because now they're big and they can make a big mess.

They can make a big noise. Like it can be really disruptive. But then you also need to respect the fact that like, okay, this is a 26 year old. This isn't a 15 year old. So if they want to stay out until 3 a.m., they can, right? It's complicated, right? I mean, a member a couple years back sitting down with an adolescent psychologist who told me, he's like, yeah, we used to think adolescents ended 18, 20 years old. It's like we now know that biologically, adolescence actually doesn't end until around 25 for the typical person, which means, and he described it as he said basically, until you're 25, your brain is all gas and no break.

Here, but I'll argue the other point of that. Because some parents are now, I've seen parents invoking that research to basically justify them staying as like a supervising. That's interesting. Very long. Okay, it used to be, like in the 1950s, people who are like 21, 22 years old were married, had a baby, we're working. Yeah. I mean, they were completely independent. And so the idea that, like, as a 22-year-old, you're incapable of, like, doing your own laundry.

So I worry sometimes when people are like, okay, we're just extending my parental judgment over you because, like, your cerebral cortex isn't ready for it. But it is also true. people are impulsive. Both are true. But I do think, if you put it in perspective, one thing that I would love to do is when my daughters were really little, their preschool would have this thing like, you're three-year-old. And it's like, your three-year-old should be able to take off their own winter coat. And I was always like, oh, wow, I'm doing way too much for my three-year-old, right? They're like, you're not at all supporting their independence. And I'm like, your 18-year-old should be able to like make their own dentist appointments and go. They should be able to get out of bed without

you calling them. They should be able to. to what are these things? Yeah, the basic checklist. Yeah, yeah. Some of this also, I think, probably boils down to values, right? Because if you were brought up, you know, in a family culture that said, as soon as you're 18, you've got to be able to cover yourself. Right.

And you've been raised toward that. Right. You know, and then your kid comes home and all of their peers and all their family cultures are different. They're like, no, like this is my home. Like this is, you should be open for me and I should be okay. and I'm just, I'm struggling a bit here, and I need to get back on my feet, and don't you want to support me in that? And, like, making me pay this and do that, it's like, that's got to be something that comes up on a regular basis.

It is. And I think that that's a really good point, that there are the differences, like, the expectations of the generations and, like, what they think is appropriate. Yeah, again, it just comes back to, like, having an open communication with it and trying not to impose it and but just really come to it from a place of curiosity and, like, how do we create an environment where everybody, thrives. Yeah. So I think zooming out, the thing we keep coming back to on both levels is, is this is unfolding, it's almost like it's unfolding on three levels, on an individual identity level, on an adult relationship level. Yes. Right. And then on an adult kid level. Yeah. No, that's very true. Each one of those deserves its own process of inquiry and conversation. Exactly. Exactly. Like one nice thing that seems to happen at this phase is that people reconnect with

their siblings. Oh, that's really interesting. Because people are just like busy. They're doing their own family, but then a lot of times you'll reconnect with your siblings. So that's a really positive thing that can happen. But I think you're right. There's the individual, like my identity, my purpose, sense of growth. Then there's marriage if you have it or if you're single. How are you dealing with that? Friends, family, community, and then your relationship with your child. Yeah. I love the idea of just thinking about those. And also your repeated suggestion,

rather than waiting to the day of, to the extent that you can start to think about, you know, like, how might I feel? What might I want? What might I be curious about before that? You know, ask it of yourself. Ask it of any relevant, you know, relationships that you might have. And there's definitely signs that you're like, you're probably going to struggle. So I think it's good. What do we look for? If you would say my child is my whole world. Okay. If you would say my child is one of my best friends. If you would say I don't really have any relationships outside my family. If you say I can't really describe myself to a stranger without referring to, I'm a soccer dad, I'm the father of three girls, I'm, you know, whatever it is, those are signs that maybe you want to start thinking about it, like setting yourself up. I mean, even something as simple is like one night a week, I'm just going to do something for fun myself. I'm going to take a class. I'm going to start a book club. I'm going to get together with my college friends who live in town, like where you just say it is possible for me to carve out

part of my life, which is just I want to sing in the church choir and I'm just going to do that and everybody else has to figure out what to do for dinner. Just to sort of start holding space for that to do your transition. It's interesting. Sometimes people who are divorced say that they think it's good practice. The people who split custody, they feel like often have it. Like it's hard for them because there's nobody at home with them, but they have started facing these questions much earlier. Right, right, right. That makes sense. Yeah. Huh. So interesting. So much to think about. I've loved this. I feel it's a good place for us to come full circle as well. I have asked you this question a number of times over the years. We're going to ask it again because it's been a number of

years in this container of good life project. If I offer up the phrase to live a good life, what comes up? Accept myself and also expect more for myself. Thank you. Hey, before you go, make sure to tune in next week for our conversation with the legendary author Michael Pollan about the elusive nature of consciousness and why it's currently under siege. Michael shares why our awareness is the most precious thing we own and how we can reclaim our attention in an age of constant distraction. Be sure to follow Good Life Project where you get your podcasts so you don't miss that upcoming episode. This episode of Good Life Project was produced by executive producers Lindsay Fox and me, Jonathan Feast. Editing Help by Alejandro Ramirez and Troy Young, Christopher Carter crafted our theme music.

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