I remembered what it felt like to be both fiercely proud and terribly tired.

Those memories were mine.

I did not owe Brian a collection of them to make him understand.

The next day I went for a walk with Elise along the river trail.

She asked what I wished I could tell my younger self.

“That she doesn’t need to be perfect,” I said after a while.

“That the boys can grow up okay even if she sometimes serves cereal for dinner and forgets to sign a field-trip form.”

Elise smiled.