Choosing Joy In The Empty Nest with Suzy Mighell

Quiet can feel like loss until you realise it’s also space. Mel sits down again with Suzy Mighell, author of Empty Nest Blessed, for a warm follow-up chat about what really changes when kids grow up and the house gets still. We talk honestly about the emotional whiplash of parenting through seasons and why it’s normal to feel two things at once: grief and gratitude, fear and courage, missing the noise and loving the calm. 

We dig into what Suzy calls the sandwich generation, when you’re supporting adult children (and sometimes grandkids) while also watching your own parents age and need more care. That role reversal can be heavy, but it can also clarify what matters, helping you make more intentional choices with time, relationships, and faith. If you’ve been craving practical empty nest encouragement, you’ll hear simple ways to reframe the quiet as a gift that supports deeper thinking, stronger boundaries, and more purposeful living. 

We also get practical about parenting adult kids well. Suzy names the biggest mistake many of us make: giving advice without being asked. We unpack the shift from coach to cheerleader, manager to mentor, and leader to listener, plus how to encourage adult kids (and daughters-in-law) without stepping on toes. If your child keeps you out of the loop, Suzy shares “little touches” that build connection without pressure and a communication cheat code when you don’t know what to say: reflect their feelings and stay present. 

Follow Suzy at emptynestblessed.com and @EmptyNestBlessed, then subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help more parents find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And Catching Up

Mel 0:18

Welcome to Beyond Organised, the podcast that helps you simplify your life and amplify your purpose. I'm Mel Schenker, life coach, speaker, founder of She's Organised, but, more importantly, a wife and mum of four little kids. If you've ever felt overwhelmed, like you're constantly juggling everything but never quite catching up, this is the place for you. Here we go beyond just the tidying up and creating systems. We're talking about real life strategies that bring order to your life, but also we talk about the things beyond the organising, the things that really matter, like your parenting relationships and so much more. So grab your coffee and let's dive in.

Mel 0:59

Welcome back to another episode of Beyond the Organised. I have Suzy with me again. I am so excited. I was just looking, and it's been a little over six months since we last got together. I can't believe how fast time has flown. And just to let you know who Suzy is, so she is the author of Emptiness Blessed and the creator. She has been around the circle for a while now, and she's a complete expert in what she does. And if you would like to listen to our previous episode, that was back on December 1st, 2025. It was called Navigating the Emptiness with Suzy Mighell. So definitely check that one out. But today we're just having a little bit of a chat and a bit of a follow-up. So welcome back, Suzy.

Suzy 1:45

Thank you. We became fast friends. We were immediately kindred spirits on that. And I was just grieving that I wasn't going to maybe get to talk to you again because we just enjoyed each other. And we were just so of one mind. And so I was delighted when you asked me to come back on, Mel. Thank you. And I absolutely love what you do. I think you help so many women. And I love that what you do is across age ranges. And um, excuse me, I'm talking to you from my kitchen. We are at my beach house in Sanibel Island, Florida, on our annual family beach vacation. We go every year for three weeks. We have kids coming in and out, grandkids coming and out, and it's big fun. But it is very tough. We're in a little tiny condo. So that's why my kitchen is behind me. It's a beautiful kitchen.

Mel 2:38

So no problem at all. So, Suzy, what have you been up to since we talked last? Because it sounds like you are an incredibly busy woman with a lot of things going on.

Suzy 2:50

Well, you know, it's funny because uh just like you, you know, you're teaching other women and instructing and encouraging, but you have to live your life too. You can't take someone where you have not been. So um I do my best to live my life and um be very normal and then

Choosing Joy Through Life Seasons

Suzy 3:10

be very um discreet in how I share and what I share. Usually, you know, if I'm gonna tell a story, it's usually making fun of me and it's a me. And uh so just a busy living life. I have been speaking quite a bit and um continuing just to refine what I do. As you mentioned, I've been a part of the content creator universe before it was even a thing for 10 years now. And uh you can really find me on emptynestblessed.com. And then when we named the book, I was like, well, that's a no-brainer. We'll just we'll just call it Empty Nest Blessed, and it's 60 Days to Finding Joy in the Empty Nest. So I am all about joy, the choice to choose joy. I see in empty nesters a desire to make good choices. And one of the things about the empty nest, and I know this is really the opposite of where you are busy, mama, with your littles, but you have the opportunity to pull back a little bit and stay in your head and make more intentional choices. Because being a young mom where you are, it's almost like, you know, you're being buffeted all the time. Just pummeled. Here comes a ball, catch it, catch it, catch it. Oh, someone stubbed their toe. Oh, catch it, catch it. Whereas we are much more able to be proactive. So it sort of takes away your excuses and helps you think about being more proactive in everything from how you organize your home and your life to how you spend your time. You start feeling like life is waning a little bit, and you think, I don't have all the time in the world. I want to make it count. So that, and and I think starting to see ourselves clearly, caring a little bit less what others think, hopefully, caring more what the Lord thinks, and trying to make good choices with parenting adult kids because it is different. Yes, I can imagine.

The Sandwich Generation Reality

Suzy 5:18

And all of our relationships, there's a have you ever heard that term, Mel, the sandwich generation? Did we talk about that last time? You might have touched on it. Okay. So there's this term, and and it's sort of prevalent in here in the States, but people talk about the sandwich generation. So when you make a sandwich, you've got two pieces of bread, and then you've got the good stuff in the middle. So they're saying, as empty nesters, many of us are in or that good stuff in the middle. And sandwiched on one side, we have our kids who are adults now, and then sometimes grandkids. It's kind of like you added a little butter on the bread and just toasted it and delicious. And then on the other end, often you have your senior adult parents who are still living, in some cases, needing care, in others just needing oversight, maybe for their situation. But it's always present. So that is a true factor for many, many women that are in my age range, I would say 50 through 70. And um it's real. And each of those outcomes, each piece of bread, so to speak, offers uh challenges. You know, it's we're learning to parent our adult kids, not giving advice without being asked. It takes self-control, a lot of self-control. You're reversing the whole way you parented. And then with our senior adult parents, if you still have them, your role has reversed, where all your life they were your caretaker, and now you're taking care of them. Take care of them. And that can be challenging from their end and from yours. So there's a lot of heaviness, and the Lord in his wisdom said, we didn't need balls coming at us all the time. Yeah. We have to have quiet time and the stability to yes. I think I may have told you the first time we talked that one of the most shocking things, but ended up being the biggest blessing when I became an empty nester

Quiet As A Surprising Blessing

Suzy 7:29

was the quiet. It was just like, oh, it just felt like there was no energy and it was just so quiet. But then I realized, my word, this is a huge blessing. I can hear myself think. I can talk to myself out loud. I can talk to the lower, I can talk to the Lord out loud. I can just, you know, I'm gonna have a whole conversation. And I could really hear myself think, and I realized I was thinking so much better, so much deeper, and so much more intentionally was doing. But as I said, take away your excuses, girl. Get on it.

Mel 8:05

I I certainly wouldn't mind having a little bit of quiet. Yeah, but that's okay. And I know it's it's the seasons, right? But I love that your approach is one of a positive approach because someone else can be in exactly the same position and they just grieve what they don't have anymore. And and that's okay for a period, but then you just don't stay there, right? Like you gotta choose to actually live a more joyful, intentional life.

Suzy 8:38

I think that's true. And I remember talking on our first broadcast. I hope I'm remembering this right and not getting it mixed up, but we talked about how grief and gratitude can coexist.

Mel 8:49

Yeah.

Suzy 8:50

And um, there are many, many things in our life that we grieve. Um, even as we're talking about that sandwich generation, we grieve seeing our parents' age. It feels like, wait, you're supposed to take care of me. You're who I go to for advice. And now, you know, I'm wiping your mouth or you know, helping you in your wheelchair or whatever. And it feels weird and it's it's challenging. And then, you know, you can grieve that, and yet there's gratitude. I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad I can serve you. You served me for so many years. And I think that is a confusion that so many women have of all ages. So, so often our emotions are not purely one. I don't know why we ever think they are. In fact, I can't think of a time. Even like the day I had my baby, my first baby, just one of the most joyful days in my life. I was terrified. I thought, why are they letting me leave this hospital with this human person? Crazy. I don't know what I'm doing. I have no idea what I'm doing. So I was joyful and I was terrified, yes. And that is so often how our feelings are. So I think we have to get comfortable to sit in that messiness of our feelings. And in the case of choosing joy, it doesn't mean that you're ignoring those other feelings. I've been reading a lot about um David, King David. There is a wonderful series that I cannot recommend enough on Netflix, the House of David, David, and I'm loving it. And there is so much in there, and it's just made me dive back into the Psalms. There's so much in there about how fear lives with courage. Yeah. Be strong and courageous, for the Lord our God is with you wherever you go. But yet we read in the Psalms and he's pouring out, it's like his diaries, pouring out, I'm scared, I'm fearful. And they even ask him, you know, when you're going to face Goliath, are you scared? And he wasn't like, No, I got this. He was like, Oh yeah, oh I'm terrified. But he went in spite of it. So being strong and courageous and fear coming at the same time. Yeah. And um, grief and gratitude. And so I would say if you feel like you're leaning into a feeling like those women who are just like they can't seem to get past the grief, wait. Because like I found that gratitude in the silence. I was grieving the silence and missing the energy of the kids. But then I realized, whoa, this is some good stuff here. I can have complete thoughts in my mind. Yeah.

Mel 11:41

Well, I'm sure you'd probably get reminded every time they come to visit, right? I mean, that's the thing.

Suzy 11:47

Here at the beach, we have a couple of different condos and we put everybody in different spots. And I keep saying to my husband, this trip works because we get to be together and everybody gets a little time away. Yeah. You know, it's a wonderful thing. It's a wonderful thing. So yeah, I was um my little granddaughter's three and a half. And the first day that we were here, we went down to the beach and she said, Lulu, my my grandma names Lulu. She said, Lulu, I'm scared of the waves. And I said, That's okay. And I said, But be strong and courageous. The Lord our God is with you wherever you go. And we know the guy who made the waves. You know him. And she said, Who's the guy? And I said, Well, Jesus. And she said, Oh, I do know him. And so we were like, We know the guy, the wave guy.

Mel 12:39

So it's okay. I'm right here with you. I love I'm gonna use that with my kids the next time we're going down there.

unknown 12:46

Yeah.

Suzy 12:47

And I mean, we were scared. She was scared one time we were out and and it was started to rain. She was like, Oh no, oh no, it's raining. And I was like, wait, we know the guy who made the rain. And and also, this is just like your bath. Like, you don't get scared when you're in the bath and there's water. This is just water, like your bath. She was like, Huh.

Mel 13:07

Perspective, huh? Perspective. Yeah.

Suzy 13:10

It's yes, yeah. It's so I have been living my life. I have been speaking, I've been doing interviews and podcasts, and just continuing on on emptinessbless.com to write about and uh speak about everything from beauty, fashion, travel. We just published a Father's Day gift guide. Um, you know, just we did Mother's Day before that. America is having its 250th birthday this year. So it's a big thing in America, very patriotic. We're working on things like that, and just continuing to hopefully bless and encourage empty nesters right where they are.

Mel 13:54

Amazing. I I've obviously been following you for a while on Instagram, and I just every day coming out with these gorgeous outfits and doing things, and I'm just like, this woman is incredible. I don't know how you

Stop Unasked Advice With Adult Kids

Mel 14:09

keep up with everything.

Suzy 14:10

It's just, it's just well, I have I have help. First of all, I do have an assistant and I have an agency that I work with too. And so that's very, very helpful. But um, most of all, I think it's just it's what all of us do, right? So just considering others more important than ourselves. And I just try to think what would be helpful and encouraging to someone else.

Mel 14:33

Yeah.

Suzy 14:33

And um, and then also I think, Mel, and and this does come with age as well. You really have to be yourself.

Mel 14:42

Yeah.

Suzy 14:43

I mean, I who are you trying to please? I mean, that's it. I mean, I'm like, well, I'm just kind of the way I am, and I'm gonna continue to live my life the way I am. And and if that's a problem for somebody they don't have to follow, it's it's a it's you know, their choice.

Speaker 3 14:58

Yeah.

Suzy 14:59

And um, I'm just gonna keep trying to be myself and be as real as I can. So and hopefully that's encouraging to others. But I've been speaking a lot about what I've called the number one mistake that empty nesters make with their adult children. Would you like to guess what it is? There's one big mistake. I think I told you I was trying to parent them when they're possible, trying, yeah, giving advice without being asked. When you're where I am, when you're an empty nester, you have moved from coach to cheerleader, from manager to mentor, from leader to listener. And you need to be focused on listening, mentoring, encouraging, and cheering them on. And um watching my daughter-in-law manage a three and a half-year-old and a nine-month-old while we're down here at the beach. I just keep going, you're doing great. You're doing great. And she is doing great. And, you know, we try to help her and come alongside as much as we can, but just encourage her. And I think, especially for the women that are grandchildren, we can tend to focus on those little ones and how precious they are and the their big snuggles and hugs and how much fun they are. But really, your adult kids need your encouragement. If you don't encourage them, who's gonna? Who's gonna? Everybody loves the grandbabies. Their parents love them, their other grandparents love them, they have teachers, friends, all the good stuff. But your adult kids, they need you, they need you to say, you're doing an amazing job. And I'm proud of you, and I'm here to help you, but you got this and you're smart and you're thoughtful and you're doing awesome.

Mel 17:03

I'm curious how you navigate your like daughter-in-law, for example, like how do you, when they're not your children, you didn't grow up with them, they've come in as adults generally,

Building Relationships With In-Laws

Mel 17:16

as adults. How do you navigate that relationship, especially if there might be things that are quite different to the way you raised your children?

Suzy 17:24

Yeah. And that's a great question. I actually, first of all, a little trivia. I have two daughters in law. And I had, I was writing a blog post about relationships with my daughters-in-law. And I I couldn't figure out if it was daughters-in-law or daughter-in-law's, but it's daughters-in-law-in-law, yes. And um, so I think, I mean, they are gonna be different than you, and that's a good thing. That's a good thing. And I choose to focus on with my girls, because I have two sons. So I have two daughters-in-law, as I said, I choose to focus on what they have brought to my son's life and the hugest thing that we have in common, which is our love for that boy. Folks love him. And so when they're struggling with my sons and their weaknesses, I'm like, yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah, he's kind of been that way his whole life. Yeah. It's it's not you.

Mel 18:24

This is why don't part of you two together. Yeah.

Suzy 18:27

Or um, I'm able to, you know, just encourage them right where they are and hopefully tell them what I see them bringing into the lives of my sons and how grateful I am for that. So again, it's choosing to set your mind on the positive, not the negative. Every person is like a coin. Heads, tails. And you get the whole coin. If heads is all the positive stuff and tails is all the weak, you know, the weaknesses, all these weaknesses are is strengths taken to an extreme. So an opinionated person might come across as bossy, yeah, or too forceful. But boy, we like that they have a strong opinion when we're like, I don't know what to do. What do you think? You know? And so there's that strength. And then the weakness is, now please just leave me alone, let me decide this for myself. I mean, but but everybody's the whole, you get the whole coin. And when these girls stopped my sons, they got the whole coin. And the coin was probably not finished. Yeah. Like, you know, they still, they're table manners.

Mel 19:34

I don't know. I tried, but yeah. And look, I think even as parents, you can only do so much. You can do a lot of it. And we are supposed to navigate and not necessarily control, but sort of rein in some of these things as they grow up, right? Yeah. Because you see what happens when parents are not parenting how these children behave, and they can do some very serious damage to society as well. But it's great when you can can guide them, you can navigate them, but also bring out what God has put in them, which is, I know with my kids, I see it, they're all pretty different to me in a lot of ways. And I see little bits where I'm like, oh, yeah, you got that from me, you got that from me, and you get it from your dad. But then there's things that I'm like, you are you, you are your own person. And so I can only imagine when it gets to the stage of, you know, particularly with my older two boys, when they go to find their wives, that it is gonna be different navigating the dynamics. But I also I think I'm also pretty aware that I know they're not gonna be perfect at that point either. Like nobody ever is. And so I'm I'm already praying over my future daughters-in-law and son-in-law, because I've got one daughter. I'm already praying over them now. Because I mean, uh well, particularly with my youngest, he's only one, so his future wife might not even be born yet. But that's, you know, I'm still praying over her and and and that, you know, everything goes well if she's not even born, that everything goes smoothly with her health and development. Like, I'm praying over my future in-laws already. I love that.

Suzy 21:30

I love that. You know, that's so good. That's so good. And focusing on really, I just thought, you know, my job, God's job is to get that person ready for my son. My job is to get my son ready to be a good husband. And he has his dad to model from who is incredible. And um, then it's really about building character and so much, you know, less about behavior and more about character. And all that means is the behavior will be affected. By the character. So things like considering others more important than yourself, that's thoughtfulness. That's good behavior. That's kindness. That's sharing. That's empathy. You know, all of those character traits go into that and they will affect behavior. So it's not exactly behavior orientation, although it really is, but there's always character behind it.

Speaker 3 22:25

And I like that.

Suzy 22:26

Even if your kids feel like you were too focused on behavior, I can tell you, I know we were focused on their character. We were always looking at what's the character quality behind this, what is the godliness behind what we're asking you to do. If someone says hello, we expect you to say hello. It's nice to meet you. That's respect. That's honoring. Honor, that's respect. No, the Bible says rise in the presence of the aged and honor those who are gray-headed. So we will honor by greeting and saying, hi, nice to meet you. And so that isn't anger, but there's the character behind it. So if you can work on that behavior, but always explain that character behind it, it just will really go far. And then when they get away from you and they're tempted just to not do that behavior, they'll remember the character that was behind it.

Teaching Character Through Behaviour

Mel 23:22

Well, I don't think I was prepared for how difficult it would be, particularly with my boys who are on that neurodivergent sort of end of things, how difficult it would be for them to make eye contact and say hello. And just to get them trained in that behavior. And so, I mean, they're doing a lot better now. There's still times when someone's saying goodbye to them at school or something and they don't quite acknowledge. And but I make an effort to get them to stop and to do it. And and I have had a few parents go, oh, but that's a bit harsh, that's a bit mean. Like they have got their, you know, tendencies with ADHD and autism and all that kind of stuff. And I just go, well, I also feel like that's a bit of an excuse too. Like this kind of stuff can be trained into them. It doesn't mean it's natural, but it can become normal as time goes on. And I'm not an expert in the field, right? But I've seen it even with my boys. It's gotten to a point where they can do it. Yes, maybe they're a little bit uncomfortable. I don't have a problem with that. I think it's good to be a little bit uncomfortable and still do things that are right, to be honest. Like even if it's a bit uncomfortable, but it'll become normal. And after a while, it'll it'll be normal enough that they can function in society and behave appropriately. And it's also helping them understand why we do these things. That's what I was gonna say. Connection with people is critical because you will also get to where you want to be in life when you have good relationships with people, whether it be your boss or or your children or where whatever it is, it's important. And it all starts now with them as kids now learning these things. And it's funny because particularly with my oldest, he really struggled with all of that. But I'm even seeing him now where he he used to have no empathy. I'm I'm sorry, Toby, if you're listening to this, you know, 10 years down the track, but he used to have no empathy, anything like that. And I look at him now and he does. Like he actually can see how someone else is feeling and and go, Are you okay? Because it was at the point where he couldn't quite see it, but I'd train into him to say, Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay? Even if he's just like, I don't care if they're okay. Yeah, yeah. It's like, yeah. I got it into his his brain, like to at least ask, Are you okay? And now I see it with him like, oh, this probably was a few months ago, but something happened and I was crying, which doesn't happen very often, you know, the kids don't see me crying very much. But he came up to me and he's like, Mom, are you okay? And I'm just like, I am, buddy. And he actually offered me a hug. And that, I mean, he's probably told me two or three times in his life that he loves me or offered me a hug. Like it doesn't happen very much, but a moment like that, then it made me bore my eyes out even more because I'm like, It's, you know, Mel, you are doing an amazing job.

Suzy 26:44

I will encourage you. And and some those that behavior and that character goes hand in hand. And sometimes it'll feel like, am I putting too much emphasis on this behavior? And as long as you keep talking about the character, you're not. If you keep saying to him, so if you stop him and say, Hey, when I ask you to greet this person, why am I doing that? I want to know why do you think I am? And make him come up with an answer. And then to always the other little trick you can do is turn it the other way and say, How do you feel if you say hi to someone and they just ignore you and walk on? Yeah.

Mel 27:21

But how do you done that a lot?

Suzy 27:23

Like, I'm doing great. How are you? So, but keep saying that because that's the character underneath that behavior.

Mel 27:29

Yeah. Cause I did that too. And I'd be like, How how would you feel if someone just ignored you when you said hello? And at first it was like, I don't care, whatever. But then I'm like, no, really think about it. And there were a few times when they would say hello. I was like, go say hello. And it took them so long that the other person had walked off. And then it was like, Oh, that was a bit rude.

Speaker 3 27:50

I'm like, well, yeah, yeah.

Suzy 27:53

This is a good learning moment. And when I think of that situation where you were crying, Mel, and he came up and did that, I think really important for you. And and I'm sure you did. If you haven't, you need to stop and talk to him about it and just say, you know, when you did that, this is how you made me feel. Yeah. I felt loved. I felt so proud of you. Oh, I think he knew that. Yeah. And and don't assume that he knows. Speak it. Yeah. Speak it. And we're told again and again to speak encouragement and um in scripture. And it's really important. You're doing a great job. You're in the trenches, honey.

Mel 28:35

Oh, yes. Well, I keep I keep thinking about sort of the end goal, you know, and not the end end, but no, you know, by the time they're sort of 18 and they're whether they're still living under my roof or not, it's the fact that by that age, they really should have everything down pat that they need to adult. Yeah. And that's it.

Suzy 28:58

And and if they have the character, then they can get into any situation and pull back on that character and go, what would be the right thing to do in this situation? And you don't have to go, well, when you and I were in the exact same situation, you know, I told you to do this. Yes. The situation will not be the exact same. So they have to have the character that backs up that behavior. So keep telling them what you're doing and what you're acquiring them and why. Why? This is why we do this. Pull in scripture, Bible verses, stories, examples of how they feel, how they made you feel, how others felt. Um, you know, and then when they do it, wow, you went over and said hi to that person. You made them feel really special today. Do you know maybe nobody's gonna make them feel special all day, but you did. And I'm proud of that, you know.

Mel 29:49

Oh, I love it. I feel like we could keep talking on

When Adult Kids Share Less

Mel 29:52

all that stuff. But I always I wanted to talk a little bit more about sort of your demographic and and who you focus on because a lot of the things that you were saying, I can connect with my mum. So my mum is in that season where she's got an elderly mum, and my nan is the only grandparent I have left. Um, so she's got, you know, her mum who's 90, then my mum is mid-60s, and you know, my sister and I, we are grown up out of the house. I have my own family. My sister is still single, but it's my mum, she is an incredible mum for starters, an incredible grandma. She's over here every week helping me with the kids while I work. Like she does a lot. And I do look at a lot of the things that you're saying and just, you know, being a mentor rather than sort of mothering and all that kind of stuff. And I just go, yeah, my mum's done a really good job with that because I look at the relationship I have with my mum and I I go to her with literally everything, obviously appropriately, but anything and everything I will talk to my mum about. And she's not telling me I should do this or I should do that. She listens and is like, you know, okay, do you need my help with this or what would you like me to do? And sometimes I'm like, I just needed to get it off my chest. That's it.

Suzy 31:15

That's it. Yeah. I have a daughter too who's single. She's 29, and she'll call me and sometimes just say, I just need you to listen. Yeah. And don't say anything, just listen. And she just needs to and I'll put her on speakerphone and we'll get off. And my husband always says, like, she has a lot of words. Like, there are a lot of words. And I'm like, Yeah, there are a lot of words there. But she just needed to dump on, and we all get that way sometimes. So, you know, it's a joy for your mom to be that person for you too.

Mel 31:48

And she's okay to tell her what you need from her. Yeah. Yeah. Well, she said that to me. She goes, I love the fact that I know everything about you. Like I know your life and I know where you're at, the good, the bad, the ugly, like all of it. She she's really special. Even if she can't fix my problems, she just loves being part of it. And it's good because I mean, my my sister has her own life, you know? And so mum's out of the loop with a lot of the stuff that's sort of going on. And so it's it's harder for her to sort of navigate that still because my sister sort of has her own life. And what advice would you have for someone in that situation where their kids sort of are keeping them out of the loop a bit? How do you handle that sensitively?

Suzy 32:39

I think two things. One is when they do come, it's very, very important how how you handle that. So if they do come, yeah, if they do come, that you listen, encourage, cheer them on. All of those things we talked about rather than give advice. And a lot of saying things like, you know what, you you know what the right thing to do is here, and I know that you have the ability to do it, and you are a smart girl. You have all the skills, you have great character, you have the Lord, you can pray about it, you can handle the situation. I believe in you. Sometimes that's all they need to hear, and just that encouragement that goes beyond, like, oh, this two will pass, or oh, it'll be fine. Next week, where you don't do that. That shuts it all down. So it's about being supportive in that situation, saying, you've got this because you're you and you're right and accomplished, and and you have great character and you've had good training and you know the right thing. And so I believe that you're gonna be great in this situation and God has a plan for you. So I think handling it right would be one thing. The other thing is in the silence, keep loving them. So something that I like to call little touches. So whether it's just this funny cartoon reminded me of you, or this funny saying that someone had on the stuck on their bumper or boot of their car that was funny. And I took a picture and sent it to you because I thought you'd find it funny, or an Instagram reel that

Little Touches And Reflecting Feelings

Suzy 34:24

just reminded me of you growing up, or something like that. And we'll do that for each other, she and I. And that I think so, keep doing those little touches just to show that you love them. So, one thing really important to remember in communication is silence is very rarely interpreted positively. So, think about if you got a new dress and you said, Well, I'm going to, you know, church in my new dress and I look so cute today, and I'm just gonna be fabulous. And you get there and no one says anything, and you thought, you know, I was really careful with my makeup. I really thought I looked good, but no one said anything. We think negatively, we think, oh, maybe I don't look as great as I thought I did. We don't think, well, clearly my beauty left them speechless. You know, we don't think possibly. We tend to interpret silence negatively, and that's just a very common trait. So silence is rarely the right thing to do. And we get afraid because oh, I'm gonna say the wrong thing. Jesus said, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. So, really, what that means is the right thing to do is if you can't think of anything else, just reflect their feelings. I'm so happy for you. This is exciting. I can tell you're excited. I'm excited for you. Oh, this is devastating. I'm so, so sad and so sorry this happened. So that's the that's the cheat, really, is just Jesus told us, just repeat back their feelings to them. But keep doing those little touches and um let them know that you're thinking of them. You do not want to do silence.

Mel 36:10

My goodness, you are so full of wisdom. And I feel like I could just be picking your brain for hours. But well, in six months, we'll just come on again and we'll just put it on the calendar. I love that. Definitely. I'll I will hold you to that. Oh, I love that.

Suzy 36:28

I would love to be a regular guest.

Mel 36:30

Thank you. I would love to have you as a regular guest. I think we connect very well. I know you are busy, and I do appreciate you coming on and your time.

Where To Find Suzy And Wrap-Up

Suzy 36:42

Always time for you, darling. Always time for you. So, yes, people can find me if they want more, emptynessbless.com. Um, I'm on all the social media, not all the social medias, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube at Empty Nest Blessed. Just easy to find.

Mel 37:01

And um all the content, all the things. I'll make sure, again, it's in the description, in the show notes, so it's easy for people to follow you. And hopefully we've still got some people following you from last time.

Suzy 37:16

My book is available on Amazon in hardback, paperback, audiobook, and ebook on Kindle. Yes, there it is. And it's Empty Nest Blessed 60 Days to Finding Joy in the Empty Nest. I wrote it in 60 Days, so it would just be kind of bite-sized pieces. You can read a little or a lot. You could go through it and take two months just to work your way through it, or you could just read as many chapters as you want. It's an interactive journal.

Mel 37:45

Yeah, I was gonna say I love how interactive it is. It gives you space to write things down. And it's a good book.

Suzy 37:54

Thank you. Well, I feel like if we can engage more of the five senses, that's better. You know, definitely reading things down and getting them into our brains and hearts are is meaningful and important.

Mel 38:06

Perfect. Well, thank you so much for coming on again today, Susie. And we'll probably have to have you again in another six months. I would love it. I'm here.

Suzy 38:15

I'm here for you, my friend. Blessings to you and thank you. And know that you're always on my heart, doing great work with your littles.

Mel 38:24

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Talk soon. Thanks. If you like this episode, don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you want to continue the conversation, you can connect with me on Instagram @shes.organised or for some free resources, head over to beyondorganised.com/toolkit. Remember, organising is a tool to live the purposeful life beyond it. See you next time.