The transition from full-time parent to empty nester can be bittersweet, but this couple is taking it in stride.
To celebrate the milestone, parents Amy and Randy English did a photoshoot with their 22-year-old daughter, Haley Jones, who works full time as a nanny but recently started a photography business on the side.
Jones will be the last of their three kids to leave the nest when she moves from the family home to her new apartment on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Jones shared some photos from the hilarious shoot with her parents on her business’ Facebook page. They quickly went viral with more than 86,000 likes and 177,000 shares as of Thursday evening.
“Most parents are a little sad when they hit the ‘empty nest’ phase of life,” Jones, who has two older brothers, wrote in the post. “However, my parents seem thrilled. Also, how cute are they?!”
Jones told HuffPost the inspiration for the photo shoot came during a conversation with her mum.
“I had been wanting to take their pictures and Mama was joking about how they’re going to be empty nesters,” Jones said. “And then boom. This was the result.”
The pictures play on common tropes from pregnancy announcement photo shoots. The couple’s dogs, Marley and Buck, also make an appearance in one of the shots.
According to Jones, her parents were “shocked” when she told them she was getting her own place.
“I have always said I’m never moving out. I’m living here forever with y’all!” she said. “So they were very surprised but excited for me.”
So what does the future look like for the Englishes?
“They’re excited to have some alone time and quality time to spend with one another without any kids around,” Jones said.
Below, check out more images from the empty nest photo shoot:
