Turns out the quiet is loud.

You thought you’d feel lighter. Maybe relieved. Everyone said you’d finally have time for yourself.

But the silence is heavier than you expected. The house feels wrong. And all that time? You don’t know what to do with it.

Trippin on Empty is a podcast for when empty nesting doesn’t look like the brochure. When you’re proud of them and heartbroken for yourself. When you feel guilty for grieving something that’s supposed to be a celebration.

If you’re struggling with this transition and everyone around you thinks you should be over it by now, you’re in the right place.

What You Need To Hear First

You’re Allowed to Do Nothing

You’ve reached the end of a long stretch of constant responsibility. After years of being needed, it makes sense to feel depleted. I don’t believe this chapter needs to be productive right away. Rest isn’t avoidance or failure, it’s a natural response to finishing something that took everything you had

Advice Assumes Capacity

Alot of well-meaning advice assumes you have energy, clarity, or motivation you may not have yet. When you’re stuck on the couch, “get a hobby” isn’t helpful, it’s alienating. This podcast starts where people actually are, not where they’re told they should be.

Meaning Comes Later

I don’t think you need to make sense of this chapter right away. Clarity and purpose tend to show up after you’ve had time to sit in the confusion. It’s okay to wait for understanding and possibility to emerge when they’re ready.

A woman reclines on a bed, reflecting with a picture frame in hand.

If This Chapter Feels Harder Than You Expected

You’re not broken. You’re not too attached. You’re not failing at this. Some transitions are just harder than people admit. And you don’t need to be fixed or cheered up or reminded that “this is what you wanted for them.”

You need people who understand that both things can be true. You can want them to soar and still feel like you’re drowning.

Why This Space Is Different

Most empty nest content wants to rush you to the good part. The redemption. The reinvention. The “aren’t you so free now?” chapter.

We’re not doing that here. We’re sitting in the hard part. The part where you don’t have the answers yet. Where you’re still figuring out what this new life even looks like.

No lectures about hobbies. No pressure to be grateful. Just honest conversations about what this transition actually feels like when it knocks you sideways.

What You’ll Find Here

Open Dialogue

Real conversations about the hard stuff. No scripts, no toxic positivity, no “have you tried yoga?” Just honesty about what you’re actually feeling.

Supportive Community

People who get it. Who won’t tell you to just enjoy your freedom. Who understand that grieving this doesn’t mean you don’t want your kids to be independent.

Expert Insights

We bring in therapists who specialize in grief and transitions. Not to fix you, but to help make sense of what you’re going through. To remind you that you’re not abnormal for feeling this way.

Resource Sharing

Stories from others who’ve been there. Tools that actually help. Not the “10 ways to reinvent yourself” lists… the real stuff that gets you through the hard days.

Start by listening to others’ stories.

Listen when you need to hear that you’re not alone. When you need permission to not be okay yet. When you need someone to just say “yeah, this is hard” without trying to fix it.
This is your space. Your people. Your community.

Start Listening