Gee, after reading some of these entries I have mixed emotions....I have 3 girls,42, 38 and almost 30 ! the older girls were a product of 1st marriage and the younger one from 2nd marriage that ended in 1993. The older girls left for college, found husbands and never came back home, which wasn't traumatic because i still had a child at home, playing soccer, in school plays, etc.....after my divorce in 1993 and it was just the 2 of us I coped fine, UNTIL, UNTIL she left to go to college in 2000! I really thought I was going to die of a broken heart ! By 2000 I had some grandkids but not living close to them and not really a part of their lives until it was gift time.
Also in 2000 I was fired from a job that I had held for 16 years from a very well known large "Christian"oriented company....which was an emotional blow in itself, which is another story on its own !
My oldest girl has 2 teenage boys and they live over 700 miles away, plus she has a daughter that she gave up for adoption and has since re-united with her; my middle girl has 2 children and I'm somewhat involved in their lives since we live in the same town. My youngest, who is almost 30, has a rich exciting career and i don't see children in her future....maybe a marriage but only grand cats !
To answer the original question, I became an empty nester when i was 53 and I don't think it has been fun. I like "mothering", it is what God destined us women to be and I feel like I haven't fulfilled my duty.