Caring for an aging parent or relative is one of the most common and least prepared-for experiences in adult life. The people who sustain caregiving over time aren’t usually the ones who sacrifice the most. They’re the ones who learn that caring for themselves is part of caring for the person they love.

Sending a child to college is supposed to feel exciting, and it is. But for many parents, it’s also one of the more quietly destabilizing transitions of adult life. If you’ve found yourself crying in their empty bedroom, unsure what to do with a quiet weekend, or feeling a grief you didn’t expect, you’re not going through something unusual. You’re going through something real.