Laozi opens with pairs. Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complete each other. Long and short shape each other. Nothing stands alone.

Every event has two sides built in. At a doorway, her side is you leaving. The pickup side is you arriving. Same door, same morning.

The trouble starts when the leaving fills her whole mind. It feels total, so the afternoon pickup drops out of the picture. The picture was always wider than the feeling.

You do this when a goodbye email reads as rejection until the reply lands, or when Friday's hard meeting looks different on Monday. The event stayed put. You saw the other side.

Knowing pickup is coming does not stop the tears. It just means the tears are not the whole story.