I became more responsible when I stopped treating it as proof of who I was.

The gift had given me time and choices.

I could make those choices carefully, make mistakes, and learn from them without turning every decision into a tribute.

Leah sent the Lantern House annual report that December.

Attendance had grown and the transportation schedule was more reliable.

The center’s reserves were improving.

But the document also listed problems: a shortage of volunteers, a difficult winter, and families whose needs were still larger than the center’s resources.

I appreciated the honesty.