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empty nest

If only I could have a mom “room of requirement” like in Harry Potter

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Through the years I’ve gotten rid of sentimental items I would love to see at least one more time. By Kimberly Witt

February 23, 2022 Parenting Challenges

Learning how to accept the other mother in my daughter’s life

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I’m afraid of losing my daughter. I’m afraid of being replaced. By Jeannette Sanderson 

September 8, 2021 Family, Parenting Challenges

Struggling to find my purpose after being a stay-at-home mom

cup of coffee on wooden table
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You finally have the freedom you’ve been dreaming about for years, but you don’t know what to do with it. By Laura Carraro

July 14, 2021 Family, Parenting Challenges

Yes, I’m still a mother after all these years

Sail boat with a red sail cruising in the calm waters of the evening.
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How could this have happened so quickly? My son is all grown up with a life and a sailboat of his own, 3,000 miles away from me. By Eileen Vorbach Collins

April 30, 2021 Family

What happened when my 20-year-old son became a single parent

grandma and dad looking at baby
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At 42, I’d gone from newlywed to grandma. And no, it didn’t feel like a blessing. By Rica Lewis

January 5, 2021 Family, Parenting Challenges

Moms are the ultimate carriers for their kids

Woman walking down country road with kid on her back
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As much as I juggled and schlepped and complained, the day eventually came when I realized my arms were empty. By Laurie Sunderland

June 29, 2020 Family

Here’s to hoping my kids leave for college in the fall

Words "Dream Big" against a black wall
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How, my girls wonder, can they live a big life if they can’t get out of the gate? I feel for them. By Francie Arenson Dickman

May 7, 2020 Family

If I had the chance to parent all over again

Empty blue playground seat swing and metal chain with pretty sunset in the background
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I’d raise my family differently, not because of the mistakes I made—though I certainly made my share—but because time means so much more to me now. By Melissa T. Shultz

September 26, 2019 Family

How I came to appreciate my father’s weekly letters

stack of letter tied together with twine on a table
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They arrived. One after the other. In snowstorms. On holidays. From foreign countries. In succession—as inevitable it seemed as midterms and finals. By David Joseph

September 24, 2019 Family

How to reconcile the empty nest me with the motherhood me

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So many parents speak of this transition period with promise and enthusiasm. But I loved nothing more than my kids walking through the door every day at 2:35pm. By Randi Olin

March 20, 2019 Family

Adopting older children and the transition to the empty nest

Orange butterflies flying inside a home with white curtain covering a long window in backdrop
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I wanted to believe that bringing teenagers into our life would make it easier to let them go. I was wrong. By Meredith Gordon Resnick

January 16, 2019 Family, Parenting Challenges

After 18 years of parenting, what does it mean to be a good mother?

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When it was time to walk away—leaving my son there and a part of my life behind—I didn’t have any regrets. By Randi Olin

September 26, 2018 Family

Perspective | I let my adult children live at home

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Why is living in mom’s basement such a terrible thing? By Fara Nizamani

August 20, 2018 Family

On separation, running, and the college drop-off

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Nothing would be exactly the same again. I was inconsolable, even though the university’s family day was only a month away. By Dina Elenbogen

August 14, 2018 Family

Will I still make my banana bread when my nest is empty?

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Parenting isn’t like baking. The ingredients you mix together aren’t the same with each kid. By Randi Olin

June 20, 2018 Family

When a house is no longer home to the grown children

painted buildings on blue background
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Home is where I raised them, watched them grow and then take flight. Maybe that’s why every time they leave now, it’s a reminder of when they left for good. By Morgan Baker

January 28, 2018 Family

The time we lost my daughter’s favorite doll in a roadside hotel

Dark windy road heading towards mountainous background
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I was only thinking of miles, forgetting then, as I would many times, that part of parenting is sacrifice. By Paul Crenshaw

January 18, 2018 Family

The last pause of motherhood

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It’ll only occur to me months later, in the flurry of taking you to college, that this was the quiet part before the big crescendo. By Jennifer Niesslein

January 11, 2018 Family

Practicing who I will be when my kids are out of the house

A sketch of a woman's head with her face a palette of painted colours
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When the children are gone will I be something flimsier, something less than I was before? By Lauren Apfel

September 19, 2017 Family, Parenting Challenges

The unfeathering of the nest as my son leaves for college

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I want him out in the world. But this process—the leaving process—is excruciating.
By Emily Franklin

August 24, 2017 Family

I’m the one who got away: an author Q&A

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Motherwell interviews Andrea Jarrell about her debut memoir, which touches on themes of motherhood, desire and vulnerability.

August 22, 2017 Books

Night walks with my teens (who are about to leave me)

multi-colored geometric drawing of a couple walking at the end of tree-lined avenue
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I wish the kids could stay this age forever—on the cusp of leaving, but never leaving—only I know it would not end well. By Catherine Newman

May 30, 2017 Family

The boring tragedies of parenthood

Sketch of ancient women in a row holding onto each other
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I am shocked still by the parenting moments that break my heart.
By Catherine Newman

October 27, 2016 Family, Parenting Challenges

Learning to be a worrier mom from afar

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I had to step back and let her stand on her own two feet—even when she was shivering feverishly under the covers.
By Candy Schulman

October 25, 2016 Family, Parenting Challenges

A different kind of birth

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Would having another baby after 50 salve my grief over my children leaving home?
By Andrea Jarrell

May 1, 2016 Culture
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