Empty Nest Syndrome is not a clinical condition

My youngest son leaves for college in a few days, and I've found myself on an emotional roller coaster the last few months, randomly weeping at sentimental tv commercials or videos of cute babies on YouTube. I've already gone through menopause, so I couldn't blame the hormones, and I had started to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with me.

So I did what every normal American does when they need to find out information--I looked up "empty nest syndrome" on Wikipedia (that ultimate source of all truth), where I read: "Empty nest syndrome is a feeling of grief and loneliness parents or guardians may feel when their children leave home for the first time, such as to live on their own or to attend a college or university. It is not a clinical condition." I am relieved to know that I will not need to be medicated or hospitilized now that my children are gone.

And then I read further: "Since a young adult moving out from his or her parents' house is generally a normal and healthy event, the symptoms of empty nest syndrome often go unrecognized. This can result in depression and a loss of purpose for parents, since the departure of their children from "the nest" leads to adjustments in parents' lives. Empty nest syndrome is especially common in full-time mothers." As I have been a "full-time mother" (what does that even mean? What does a part-time mother do when she's off of "work"???) ever since I gave birth to my first child 22 1/2 years ago, I guess that wandering aimlessly from room to room trying to remember just what exactly I need to do today (or find the list that tells me what to do) is perfectly normal.

Wikipedia also informed me that "Parents who experience empty nest syndrome often question whether or not they have adequately prepared their child to live independently." Does this include worrying whether he'll remember to eat lunch or if he'll ever go to bed before 4am? Or if he'll remember to do his homework and learn not to procrastinate until the last possible minute? How about wondering how many times a week he will eat vegetables? Or if he will spend all of his money in the first 2 months of school? I'm sure that with time, I will quit obsessing about the answers to these questions, especially when I realize he is 9 hours away and there's really nothing I can do about it anyway.

So I guess all of these feelings are normal, and I should be grateful to Wikipedia for saving me the bother of a trip to the doctor to ask why I find myself tearfully looking at random 4-year-olds and wondering just how my 4-year-old son turned into an 18-year-old college student without even asking my permission. I will try to remember this fact next week when we take him to school and see if that will help as we say goodbye and head home without him. It probably won't, but it might. Thankfully, we still have a dog at home...