Kids usually can’t wait to get away from home, spread their wings, so to speak.

For parents, they can have a hard time letting go and dealing with the emptiness, the quiet, sometimes called "empty nest syndrome."

"It started off really difficult, but it gets better and better each day," says Angela Rodgers, whose 17-year-old daughter is at University of Maryland on a full basketball scholarship.

"The night before we dropped her off, I was inconsolable. But after that I thought okay, I have it together now. Okay, I'm ready to go back home and do this empty nest thing."

Angela and Kim Rodgers work to deal with the emptiness.

"Remember that your child is your child, whether they are five steps away or five states away. They're always gonna be your child, they're always gonna love you and you're always gonna love them," stresses Dr. David Spiegel, professor of psychiatry at EVMS in Norfolk.

He says it’s not unusual to feel all sorts of emotions when your child leaves, but he says you can overcome those feelings.

"It's time to re-discover old hobbies, time to re-discover some new leisure activities, maybe time to re-discover a career, or education, go back to school. So I think it's a good time to work on building your self-esteem and think about "you" for a second," he adds.

Licensed clinical social worker Alexandra Kedrock agrees, but she says some people have harder times than others.

"There's a sense of ‘what do I do now? who am I? what's my worth’ and sometimes trying to fill that up by getting over involved again."

For Angela and Kim Rodgers, their sadness is tempered with pride in their daughter’s accomplishments and the thought of independence.

"I have a wonderful wife. We enjoy being together, we like doing things together and I think that will buffer the difference," says Kim Rodgers.

"I think the biggest plus for me is that I'll get to spend more time just enjoying my husband’s company," Angela adds.

Both Dr. Spiegel and Alexandra Kedrock say it can be tough and the empty feeling won't go away overnight, but they say it does get easier.