Jessica Seiders

There’s a moment no one really prepares you for. It might happen after college drop-off. After they move into their first apartment. After a wedding. Or even while they’re still living at home—but no longer needing you in the same way.

There comes a moment in motherhood when the question quietly rises: Who am I outside of being Mom?

When my daughter left home, I thought I was prepared. I had listened to friends talk about the “empty nest.” I had read the articles. I told myself I would enjoy the quiet, the freedom, the reclaimed space in the hallway closet. I even made a list of projects I would finally have time to start. What I wasn’t prepared for was the quiet question that crept in behind the silence: