How Long Does It Take To Empty a Nest Anyway?

As I mentioned before, I am currently in the introductory phase of the empty nest. However, I am wondering just how long it takes to empty a nest.
 It is not that I am in a hurry to get rid of my oldest and newly married daughter. The truth of the matter is that I miss having her down the hall and our evenings spent together but I am also excited about the prospect of having my home office back with a true workspace and I also find that I have been getting more rest by going to bed a little earlier.
The home office I mention continues to be a work in progress, held in limbo somewhere between an office, a bedroom, and a mess! I guess my office condition is kind of a metaphor for me right now as well. I am caught between being a mom, a wife, and yes, a mess.
 Perhaps that is why this transition of the empty nest office is taking the course that it is, to teach me a lesson about my future. This office space has things that must be thrown out or given away for good, it must be redesigned and furnished, it has things in it that must be released, it has emptiness and it has promise.
 I like to think that is what my journey involves as well. There are things I must throw out that have been cluttering my psyche for far too long. These things of old have acted as barriers to my evolution, hampering my courage and confidence. There are things that I need to give away such as knowledge, friendship, and control. I bring knowledge to my clients who need it and know that I must do this more.
I have spent so many years being a mom, just living until the next milestone, that I forgot to live every day for what it is and to find and cultivate friendships. Friendship is so important and I have forgotten to give that away. My new life requires a new design and new furnishings. I need to figure out what this new blueprint will look like. As for new furnishings, well, I spent so many years making sure that everyone else came first that I hardly made a purchase of any clothing for myself that wasn't on sale, or rather on clearance. I realize I really need to refurnish myself through a decent wardrobe. I really do want to project who I am, or plan to be, on the outside. I also need to release a lot of things, not the least of which is the extra weight I have been carrying.
So I guess the bedroom to office, full-nest to empty-nest, transformation is teaching me that everything is a process and not a singular act. This is something I tell my clients all of the time but it is sinking in for me today. We tend to not reach our goals because they seem so overwhelming.
 Loosing all of the pounds I need to is mind-boggling! I can't do that is what my mind screams. Yet if I think of it as a transformative process where I set a goal of losing 20 pounds, not 20 then 20 then 20, etc., but truly make my goal to lose 20 pounds and then see how life feels. The process then doesn't seem so overwhelming. If, instead of placing all of these big picture goals before myself with the pressure that comes with them, I place small goals in each area and truly appreciate reaching those small goals, then maybe the process becomes a little more doable.
 So that is what I have decided to do, treat my life transformation the same way we are treating the office transformation, one small step at a time. I will enjoy each goal reached and decide then if a new goal is needed.
 So how long does it take to empty a nest...as long as it takes! Everything is a process.