Back-to-college season is here again. For many families, it’s a time filled with excitement, pride, and—quietly—an ache that is hard to put into words.
I remember that feeling well.
When my daughter left for college, I stood in the grocery store, unsure of what to buy for just one person. The routines had changed. The house felt different. Life, as I knew it, had shifted. My role as a mother was changing, and I found myself asking, Who am I now?
I was happy for her new adventure and, at the same time, deeply aware of her absence. So I began to journal.
That experience led us to write a book together, I’ll Miss You Too, capturing both sides of that emotional transition.
At the time, I thought that was one of the hardest moments I would face.
What I didn’t yet understand was that life would ask me to let go again—this time in a much deeper way.
Years later, as a caregiver to my husband, I experienced another kind of transition—one that reshaped not only my daily life, but my sense of identity. After years of caring for him and then losing him, I once again found myself asking, Who am I now?
What I’ve come to understand is this: life doesn’t ask us to let go just once. It asks us again and again.
The first time, it feels like an ending. But over time, we begin to see—it is also the beginning of who we are becoming.
Whether you are sending a child off to college, caregiving for a loved one, or standing at any crossroads in life, know this: you are not alone.
And if you find yourself in that quiet space between what was and what will be, take heart. You are not lost—you are becoming.
Takeaway Thought:
In every transition, we are not losing ourselves—we are discovering who we are becoming.
— Beyond the Now
I’ll Miss You Too is available on Amazon
Margo Ewing Woodacre, MSW, is a writer, former caregiver, keynote speaker and support group leader exploring life transitions, identity, and resilience. Her latest book, Crossroads: Reclaiming Identity When Life Changes Everything explores these transitions more deeply.
Visit Margo @ Margo360.com
Beyond the Now 
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