MWM,
I have been through this and it was tough, hard, sad, painful....empty. But, it gets OKAY. I promise you that. difficult child is our oldest and it took forever for him to leave. Yep, totally different scenario.
Our other two are (were) easy to live with. daughter had her moments, but would never purposely hurt us. Our youngest is the epitome of sweet and kind. When he moved out, we grieved. But, you know what, in about 6 weeks it was fine. You find ways to fill yourself, perhaps not intentionally, but it just happens. And, yes, I went through mantras such as This is good. A mother bear knows when it is time to let her baby go. and, that helped...for seconds.
About a year later, he moved back home for six months. When he left, it was again sad/difficult...but not nearly as painful as the first time.
I don't know how it came to be okay the first time; it just did. And, it did not take THAT long. Please trust me.
Still, I remember the pain you are about to feel. I remember posting about it on FB ---my pain at the loss of my youngest moving out---and several folks assuring me it would be alright. Not certain i believed them, but i should have. It IS a glorious thing to watch our adult kids spread their wings. It just can take a few weeks to appreciate it fully.
Hugs!
