PenPenWrites

parenting blog, memoir notes, family punchlines & more

© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

Here’s a light but trenchant observation by Nora Ephron on the adjustment to the post-college era, when the kids finally move out and are on their own–or trying to be. [Paragraphing is Ephron’s.]

“But eventally college ends, and they’re gone for good.

The nest is actually empty.

You’re still a parent, but your parenting days are over.

Now what?

There must be something you can do.

But there isn’t.

There is nothing you can do.

Trust me.

If you find yourself nostalgic for the ongoing, day-to-day activities required of a modern parent, there’s a solution: Get a dog.”

Nora Ephron, “I Feel Bad About My Neck”

I’ve filed this one under one of my Notes to Self: Keep Up Your Own Interests

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