I love spending time with my parents and siblings. Our partners and kids aren't invited.

The author cherishes time with her parents and siblings. Courtesy of Melissa Noble My siblings and I are all adults with our own families, careers, and mortgages. Time with just us and our parents is rare, but special. It reminds me of where I came from, and of younger versions of myself. When my mom was younger and my siblings and I moved out, she really struggled with empty-nest syndrome . Now that I'm a mom of three myself, I can totally appreciate how she must have felt. As a parent, you pour so much of your love, time, and energy into your kids. And then one day, they leave. I imagine it must feel incredibly strange. I already dread the day my babies leave the nest, to the point where I sometimes cry to my husband about it.