Hope would continue to need checkups and perhaps new supports as she grew.

Lucas and Hannah still had debt to manage and trust to rebuild.

I still carried anger that surfaced at unexpected times.

None of us had forgotten the delivery room.

But Hope was laughing at Mason, who had put a paper star on his head and was pretending to be a space captain.

She wasn’t waiting for us to settle the past before enjoying her birthday.

She was simply here, living the life she’d been given, surrounded by people who had decided to keep learning how to care for her.