Do Jews ever become empty nesters?

Since my youngest child finished school last year, I’ve been fantasising about becoming an empty nester.  

I know there are plenty of parents who dread the empty nest, who want to keep their adult babies close indefinitely. I am not one of them. After three kids and 26 years of parenting – half as a single mother – I am quite looking forward to it. I still have two kids at home and I love them desperately, but I also quite like silence. 

When both my younger kids were overseas at the same time recently, I missed them, yes, but I also relished the peace. I napped on the couch undisturbed. I ate noodle cups every night for dinner. And when I tidied the house, went out, and then returned home, the house was still tidy.  

Absolutely incredible. 

But as a Jewish mother of three, am I going to become an empty nester anytime soon? Highly unlikely. Firstly, it is becoming increasingly common for adult kids to live with their parents until their mid- to late-twenties, and even beyond.  

Now, moving out is expensive, and rent can be prohibitive. Still, I know many young Jewish adults who actually could afford to leave the nest, but who just don’t want to. Life is way too comfy at home. 

Besides, even when Jewish young adults do move out, they often don’t go very far. Sure, there are Jewish empty nesters who speak to their kids only rarely, and when my son was living overseas, I was one of them. (In fact, we communicated primarily by text, with me sending frequent long messages, and him acknowledging his receipt with a single emoji.)