How I explained a career gap that had nothing to do with immigration

Had an eight-month gap in formal employment for personal reasons unrelated to my case (a family caregiving period), and wanted to share how I addressed it, since an unexplained gap can raise questions a reviewer has no way to resolve on their own. I included one brief, factual sentence in my personal statement noting the gap and its general cause, without oversharing personal details that weren't relevant to the case — just enough context to close the question rather than leave it open for a reviewer to wonder about. I didn't treat it as something to apologize for or extensively justify, just a plain factual note. This follows the same principle as another post here about disclosing an evidence gap honestly: an unexplained gap invites unguided speculation, while a brief, honest, appropriately-scoped explanation closes the question cleanly without turning it into a bigger deal than it needs to be.