Mother’s Day: Empty-nest syndrome hits hard when children leave home

One minute they’re climbing on your lap wanting a cuddle, the next minute they’re off without a backward glance. Before Mother’s Day, Jane Phare reflects on life after her son moved out and talks to other mums about their experiences. It’s the immaculately tidy bedroom that gets me.

So quiet, empty. Empty coat hangers and drawers, empty bed (neatly made), empty floor. Who knew there was so much carpet in his room? He left for Otago two summers ago; first a year boarding at Knox College in Dunedin and then to Castle St in probably one of the grottiest flats in the ‘hood.



A beloved only child, conceived after years of fertility treatment at a cost that might otherwise have been spent on a beach house, gone. “You must miss him,” friends say mournfully..