Husband and I are about to be empty nesters. To reconnect, we took a trip together, but it was awkward at first.

After decades focused on raising their children, a reader and her husband are preparing for their “empty nest” chapter. With their son home from college for the summer, one daughter newly married, and the youngest set to leave for college in late August, the trip they take together to reconnect doesn’t feel easy at first. They opt for a wellness resort in the Berkshires for four nights and five days—longer than they’ve been away without the kids. They book activities including a couples massage, a cooking class, and pickleball lessons, then leave much of the rest unstructured.