In this edition of The Gift, we share the best gifts for graduation, promotions, retirement, and more.There’s something bittersweet about the end of just about anything. I learned this years ago, when I left my first big-city job in book publishing.For clarity: I wasn’t sad. I was thrilled and proud to be on to the next. But as I rode the carpeted elevator down twelve floors and shouldered through the lobby of Rockefeller Center for the last time, I was overcome. My first job was really, truly over. This chapter was closed forever. Life rolled on.The final days of school for my children stir a similar nondescript longing in me. I’m overjoyed for summer ahead, brimming with gratitude that they’ve grown another year, and inexplicably proud.But last year, I also held back tears as my daughter and I walked home from second grade for the final time, as she nattered on about sugar, play dates, and plans. Another chapter closed forever. Life rolled on.Over the years, I’ve found gifts — for myself, for the people I’m parting ways with, or for anyone closing a chapter — to be the best way to honor new eras, big and small. Here’s what I mean:My preschooler changes schools next year. To thank this year’s teachers, I thought about getting these colorful ice cream bowls or an audiobook subscription — both of which have that schools-out-for-summer energy. But, those options felt too impersonal. Instead I ordered custom insulated tumblers with a line drawing of my son’s four-year-old visage emblazoned on them. When they’re welcoming next year’s brood onto the playground in all manner of Maine weather, I hope they’re reminded of our heartfelt appreciation.My beloved nieces are making big leaps this year — one is graduating high school and the other college. They’re both getting gold sunburst pendants with the seal of their respective alma maters, like the one a friend of mine wears as a subtle reminder of her formative years. I also toyed with the idea of starting charm bracelets for them — my colleague Allyson Waller treasures the one her parents gave her a decade ago for her high school graduation. And I still have my mom’s bracelet from 1969, complete with charms of her initials and a tiny book that actually opens and closes. It’s a piece that feels sure to become an heirloom.A former colleague who is now a good friend recently got a long-awaited and long-hoped-for promotion. Even though the man wants for nothing, I could picture this engraved pewter box on his dresser to hold cuff links and spare change — serving as a physical reminder of the time hard work really did pay off.My newly retired neighbor is more interested in looking ahead to his next chapter. I think anyone beginning their post-professional life would enjoy the seminal travel planner, Where to Go When, from Lonely Planet. Their road trip guide is equally excellent. And for my fellow New Englanders, I might suggest this guide to spectacular natural sites that are all an easy walk from the side of the road.