Parenting does not end; it matures. And, like all mature love, it asks for courage: to learn continually, to forgive repeatedly and to show up consistently, not as the all-knowing parent, but as a fellow human being, who still grows, too.

It takes deep psychological work to love the child we have, not the one we imagined or would choose; to listen fully, respect their autonomy and offer wisdom only when asked. As Anna Freud said, “A mother’s job is to be there to be left.”

about a third of young adults aged 18 to 34 now live with their parents. Nearly 60% of parents financially support an adult child. As difficult as that might be, it is a required adaptation to a profoundly altered economic and social reality.