Your friend recently asked how you were handling taking your youngest son to college. You replied that you were happy for him, and that you know it is the right decision. Even though you know that moving him away to college is good for him, you are still worried about him making the right decisions. You realize that this will not only be a challenge for him, but also a test on how you and your wife did raising him. This is the new normal, and it is emotional, exciting, and expensive. You realize that people do this every year, and you actually find yourself frustrated that he is so excited about being so far away from home.
The main thing that you told your friend was that you were confused about where the last 18 years went, and you are actually a little bit angry that you have to drive so far to take him to his new life. On the long drive back home you realized that this is also a test to see how he raised his parents. You are curious if he will return texts when you message him. You are anxious that people will be nice to him. You are stressed because you cannot protect him.
At the end of your very long answer, your friend attempted to summarize: you are having a hard time.
Life’s Biggest Transitions Can Lead to Extreme Amounts of Stress
Instead of worrying about things that you cannot control when you move your first or last child to college, perhaps it is time to get to work. Whether it is tackling a difficult task at the office or making plans for a project at home, there are many ways that parents can find to channel their energy into productivity. For some, a long delayed home project is the perfect solution to many long and lonely hours in an empty nest. Finishing a basement space, redesigning a master bedroom, and making plans for a new recreational room are all ways that many people can keep themselves busy during stressful times.
With some of the latest peel and stick wood panels and other kinds of engineered hardwood products, in fact, it is often possible to redo an entire space in a single weekend. Projects that keep both the mind and body busy are often the first and best step toward battling the confusion, sadness, and anger when your children transition to college classes.
Both adhesive shiplap and peel and stick wood panels provide the perfect alternative to painted walls or floors. With the use of easy to install interlocking pieces, many peel and stick wood panels can appear to be one seamless application.
Although college admissions teams across the country tell anxious groups of parents that selling a house or turning a college student’s bedroom into an office may be too big of a change on the home front, there are many other kinds of home improvement projects that keep anxious parents busy. With the use of the latest peel and stick wood panels, for instance, there are many times when both large and small spaces can be easily transformed.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the many times when a well timed home project is the perfect solution:
- A category that has grown 75% since the year 2017, there are currently more than 14 billion home looks on Pinterest. This is one indicator that there are many people who are looking for ways to improve their homes, while at the same time keeping themselves busy.
- 48% of home owners indicate that they planned to decorate their homes in the year 2018, according to a Houzz survey.
- More than 33% of respondents in a 2017 Interior Design Trends survey indicated that they would choose a neutral color palette when redecorating their home.
- Interior designers recommend updating a room’s decor every five to 10 years, but not all families find the time to do this.
If you are transitioning from a son or daughter moving to college, a well timed home improvement project might keep you busy, instead of with too much time on your hands to invent things that you can worry about.