133 Ways to Avoid Going Cuckoo When the Kids Fly the Nest: A Parent's Guide for Surviving Empty Nest Syndrome

The Perfect Graduation Gift-for Parents!

What's a parent to do when the kids leave home? Mixing humor with practical advice, Lauren Schaffer and Sandy Fleischl Wasserman's 133 Ways to Avoid Going Cuckoo When the Kids Fly the Nest is a good friend to laugh with, a shoulder to cry on, and a manual of sound advice to help those in need keep their sense of humor while riding the emotional roller coaster of Empty Nest Syndrome. Their essential, indispensable tips and strategies encompass everything from the painful first days to return visits to expressing your new empty-nester self, including:

* Why you shouldn't immediately convert your kid's room into a
studio, bordello, or workshop
* The right movies for a good laugh or cry
* How to keep the lines of communication open (use good old-
fashioned guilt to keep the phone calls coming)
* How to stuff a wild care package
* Return visit diplomacy (do not take personally her overwhelming desire to reconnect with friends instead of cozying up to you for a long pajama-clad chat)
* How to fight maudlin memories (go to Toys "R" Us between Thanksgiving and Christmas and eavesdrop on some tantrums)

Lauren Schaffer is a high-school French teacher and a nationally known teacher-trainer who loves to travel, garden, and dabble in graphology. Sandy Fleischl Wasserman is a speech-language pathologist, mountain biker, skier, and fledgling mandolinist. Between them, three children have flown the nest and one's departure is imminent. They are nested in a small mountain town in southern Oregon with their husbands and assorted animals.