There comes a day when the last child ventures out and leaves behind a home that suddenly feels strangely quiet. While some parents break out the champagne and confetti, others find themselves staring into a drawer of half-empty crayon boxes wondering what just happened to their identity.
For Suzy Mighell, it was a mix of both that inspired her to guide women through midlife transitions and self-discovery.
Mighell is the force behind “Empty Nest Blessed,” a platform dedicated to helping women navigate life after the kids leave — the popular influencer insisting the new season can be the most vibrant yet for moms.
From her home in Preston Hollow, she equips, advises, and cheers on fellow moms as they rediscover who they are beyond parenting — her followers tuning in for insights ranging from scaling down meal prep to finding new purpose once the nest empties.
In her new book, Empty Nest Blessed: A 52-Day Guide to Discovering Who You Are Now That the Kids Have Grown, Mighell doesn’t just present a typical post-parenting manual. Her chapters are part devotional, part journal, and part late-night chat with a wise, sassy friend.
The book also embraces lightheartedness and practical living with skincare tips, mastering smartphones, and reviving date nights without negotiating bedtime routines.
With bite-sized reflections, Mighell encourages women to reignite their passions while also focusing on others who may have been sidelined by the kids.
“Let’s be honest,” she said, “after years of parenting, some of us look at our spouses and think, ‘Oh, you’re still here?’ Now’s the time to rediscover that person — the one you married, not just the co-parent.”
The author encourages readers to ask a group of close friends to identify the qualities they most admire in one another. For Mighell — an outgoing, never-met-a-stranger Baylor alumna — hearing words such as encourager, joyful, and brave was invigorating. “You’ll be amazed at the treasures others see in you.
“Brave? That one caught me off guard,” she admitted. “But it gave me the courage to chase my own dreams, not just the dreams I’d parked in the minivan.”
Suzy Mighell defies categorization and she insists that no mom should be defined by a single label or life stage. Although she holds a degree in marketing, she too faced the often intimidating learning curve that many moms encounter when redefining their professional identity. She admits only recently discovering what extending her brand’s verticals entailed.
“I’d rather my influence stretch horizontally across all topics and generations,” she joked.
Mighell calls her signature approach “palms-up living” — a metaphor for letting go of perfectionism while welcoming life’s unpredictable dance. “I used to white-knuckle everything, from my kids’ choices to my calendar. When I learned to open my hands, I found peace,” she said.
And when grown children make decisions that challenge even the most Pinterest-perfect parenting playbook, the mom of three adult children recommends releasing them with love, clear boundaries, and grace. “They’re adults. Our job now? Cheer them on and drop the impossible burden of guilt that we messed up. Spoiler alert: perfection was never on the table,” she said.
In her book, Mighell encourages parents to offer advice only when asked and to listen without judgment — a practice the devoted grandmother herself follows.
Most importantly, said Mighell, moms deserve a pause after years of unconditionally providing for their families.
“After decades of making sack lunches, finding missing cleats, and decoding the emotional hieroglyphics of teenagers, we are due for an intermission,” she said. “Not just a breath — but a deep, soul-expanding exhale.”