The Open Nesting™ Challenge: My Next 12 Weeks

I’m 58 years old, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve had people around me. Six kids. A husband. Friends. Colleagues. Dogs. You name it, I’ve shared space with it. My life has been one long group project: carpool lines, dinner tables, holiday chaos, and a constant stream of “Mom, where’s my…?”

I’ve shared the physical space - every bedroom, every bathroom, every square inch of the fridge. And I’ve shared the mental space - keeping calendars, remembering birthdays, carrying everyone else’s “don’t forgets” in my brain. Busy was my default setting.

And now? My nest is… open. Which sounds lovely in theory, but in practice it means I suddenly have air around me that I don’t quite know how to fill. After years of constant noise, I can actually hear myself think - and sometimes I’m not quite sure what to do with it.

So here’s what I’m going to do about it: The Open Nesting™ Challenge.

For the next 12 weeks, I’m going to do one thing alone each week - something that stretches me, feels a little emotionally challenging, or maybe even just flat-out awkward. Things I’ve never really given myself permission to do. From a digital detox, to dancing by myself, to taking myself out to dinner, to (gulp) keeping a secret all to myself.

Not because I’m lonely. But because I’m curious. Curious about what it feels like to reclaim a little space - both physical and mental - for me.

And I’ll share it here - messy, funny, honest - because if my nest is open, then maybe it’s an invitation. An invitation for all of us to stretch into this new season, one brave little step at a time.

Who’s with me?