Introspective Emanuel reflects on becoming an empty- nester
On the seventh anniversary of his inauguration as mayor of Chicago, a surprisingly introspective Rahm Emanuel last week looked ahead to an emotional moment coming up: becoming an empty- nester when his youngest child goes off to college.
“How do I celebrate [ the seventh anniversary]? You get your kids home, and you actually look at them and start crying,” the mayor said Wednesday.
“When I first ran for Congress, Zach was 4, Ilana was 3, and Leah was a year- and- ahalf. [ Now] Zach is a rising senior. Ilana is a rising sophomore, and Leah is gonna be a freshman. You look at where they’re going to school, what they’re doing, what they’re interested in [ and] you look at their friends. If I start talking about it, I might start crying. I really will because I’m so proud of them.”
The normally hard- edged Emanuel was in a cheerful but reflective mood because his two older kids — Zach and Ilana — were coming home from college Wednesday to spend their summers in Chicago.
In fact, Ilana called from the airport as the mayor chatted with reporters on the walk back to City Hall froma news conference along the Riverwalk on a glorious Chicago morning.
The transition to empty- nester is one of the most difficult and emotional a parent can go through.
It requires trust, losing control, letting go and taking pride in watching your children grow and flourish to the point where they become more like adult friends instead of children.
Asked how the transition is going in the Emanuel household, the mayor called it “literally the first hours of a whole new experience.”
“Before, the kids were everything. Now that they’re gone, all we do is talk about the kids,” he said.
“Everything you work on for 18 years is for this moment — for them to be who they are and to grow up like this. I’d be less than honest if I didn’t say there’s one part of you that feels a tad sad, but I have more joy than I do sadness.”
Chicago’s first Jewish mayor then used a Yiddish word that best describes a parent’s bursting pride in their children: nachas.
“Five percent is sadness. Ninety- five percent is total, pure joy that they are becoming the young adults you always hoped and exceeding that in every level. Most importantly, their values,” the mayor said.
“Our kids are at the point in their lives that, everything you worked towards, they’re accomplishing. They’re not only going to good schools, but they have good friends and more importantly, they have good values and they’re exploring their interests. And I’m incredibly proud of the young adults and the values that they’re showing. But that doesn’t mean I won’t yell at them tonight at dinner.”
As for that seventh anniversary of his inauguration as mayor, Emanuel said he hadn’t even thought about it until a reporter bothered to ask.