Your life is unraveling a bit too fast for your comfort. It’s a dream where you are standing alone in the dark and you aren’t sure where to step. But all of a sudden, a faint flicker shows up in the distance and as you carefully step closer you realize it’s coming from the open door of your parent’s house, ushering you inside to safety. Then you realize this is real life and you are moving in with Old Mom and Dad. What a nightmare, right?

This is just what our modern Western society has led us to believe. But in many cases, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Believe me. I have walked that walk and have come out the other side not only unscathed, but completely rejuvenated and completely grateful.

Here are four life lessons that I have learned since walking through that open door of Mom and Dad’s.

Step one: Accept and trust life’s timing.

I woke up on a Monday morning in September, 2021 to find out that my life was about to change. I received a notice from the HR department at work that I would be terminated in a matter of days due to a new policy being implemented. My palms were sweating as I read the announcement. My face felt hot, my heart was pounding.

Like so many others had also experienced during the pandemic, this was yet another event to add on to already stressful times.

Here I was suddenly without a job. Apparently, I am supposed to accept and trust the timing of life. What now?

I immediately called my sister and told her I was coming to visit for a few days. I needed the family support.

A few days later, and on the very same day I was officially let go, I was sitting in my sister’s kitchen and opened up Facebook. I happened to see an advertisement for a job in my field of work of environmental biology near my hometown. This was a rarity as these types of jobs did not often pop up. With no other prospects and needing a job fast, I applied. Soon after, the job was miraculously mine. That was a pretty cool dose of trusting in the timing.

My 32-year-old brain didn’t have much time to think about the fact that I would be moving home. My mom and dad came to help me move my things. God bless them. Because as we all know, moving is actually a real-life nightmare. I filled my parent’s basement and garage with all of my belongings. They could have kicked me out right then and there, but they didn’t bat an eye.

Alright, Mom and Dad—I’m home! What now? Oh yeah, the whole ‘trust’ and ‘timing’ thing. Right. Gotcha.

Soon after settling into Mom and Dad’s, my formerly active and exuberant mom was scheduled to go in for major back surgery. She had been suffering from back and nerve pain for a while, but it felt like she had become immobile overnight.

Household tasks had become impossible due to her lack of mobility and because of the pain she was in. But with me now living at home, I could help my parents by cooking, cleaning, buying groceries and taking over daily tasks.

My mom had her first back surgery in November and a second one in February 2022. Things were not progressing as they should have been, so the doctors looked at her hips and found that she needed double hip replacement.

Fast forward to August and my mom completed her third surgery—a left hip replacement, and this will be followed by her right hip in a few months time.

How was it possible that I had lived away from home my entire adult life, but just when my mom needed me, I happened to need her (and my dad), too?

This time, it was easy to see why life had taught me to trust the timing.

Okay, I had accepted my fate and the divine timing. Now what?

Step two: Enjoy this fate and find gratitude.

Living with my parents was enjoyable. I realized this one of the first nights I was home. Here I was, eating fudgsicles on the couch while watching a movie with my mom and dad. Does life get any better?

Life had slowed down and thus allowed me to slow down. I could enjoy quiet, unhurried walks around the neighborhood with my dog. We set up decorations at Christmas time. We made fried chicken and Minnie’s chocolate pie from the movie The Help. I planted a vegetable garden in the spring. We took road trips together. We went to the pool every day when my nieces and nephews came to visit. I helped with boomer technology questions and protected them from online scams. They gave me a cozy room and house to make myself home in while I figured life out. It was a win-win.

I had gained quality time with my parents that I may never have gotten otherwise. My dad and I both tended to the garden and took care of our horses together. We even shared in the grief of the passing of my dad’s beloved horse, Bud. This was a reminder that none of us are going to be around forever, and being able to spend time with the ones you love is priceless.

I learned humility. Sometimes what you think of as a setback is no setback at all, but a large blessing in the form of coffee on the deck with Dad in the mornings or playing cards with Mom at the kitchen table late into the night. Why worry about other people’s perceptions of you when you get to make these kinds of memories?

Okay, I had found gratitude and found peace in the moment. Now what?

Step three: Reset and reassemble.

This is my launch pad. My basecamp. My fork in the road. Whatever you wish to call it, it is a stopover on the way to the next thing. I don’t mean that my time here is not something to be enjoyed, but for me, living with my parents was never meant to be a permanent thing. While living at home, I am able to carefully reassess what it is I truly want out of life and what goals I’d like to set for myself going forward. I am able to reset and find a way to live purposefully again.

Of course, there are tangible benefits for me living with my parents, as well. It allowed me to pay off much of my debt and I was able to save a good chunk of money. I was also able to analyze what material possessions were important to me, and then purge my belongings in order to live more minimally.

You can look at it as an opportunity to grow your relationship with your parents as an adult. There is a lot less drama compared to being a child or teenager living at home, and you will learn a lot about them and from them, while simultaneously creating memories.

Not everything has been a walk in the park. We’ve had some arguments and it’s been hard seeing my mom in pain. But even through the hard times, I look at it as an opportunity to discover more about myself and where I can improve as a human.

The purpose of family is to catch each other when we fall. I realize not everyone has the ability to count on family when life deals you a blow. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been given such a supportive family while I am rearranging my life.

Okay, I’ve reset and reassembled. Now what?

Step four: Lift off. Climb. Choose a path.

I know my time at home is drawing to a close after nearly one year here. I believe this feeling comes as a simple knowing and if you ever find yourself in the same situation as me, I believe you will have that same gut feeling, as well. My mom is starting to do better after her surgeries and I am feeling the pull to continue on and give my parents their space back.

Moving in with parents after life throws some punches is like being the rock in a slingshot. At first you think you are going backwards. But what is really happening is a much-needed draw back in order to launch you at your new target. The house is the slingshot, you are the rock, and flying is your life.

Pick a good target—but don’t forget to enjoy the flight and thank those who helped you along the way