In August, Dave and I helped our youngest daughter pack her possessions into a car, drive 50 miles away, and move into a college dorm room.  Launching her to college launched us into a new stage of life:  the empty nest.  So far the transition has been a successful one – for her and for us. And it has me looking back over the 27 years that Dave and I have been parents, looking back and seeing four distinct stages of parenting.