We ate baked potatoes and scrambled eggs because I hadn’t made it to the grocery store.

Mia announced it was the best dinner ever.

Nora said that was impossible because it had no dessert.

Eli offered half his potato as a compromise.

I laughed so hard I had to put down my fork.

Financial stress didn’t vanish.

But that evening reminded me why the calculations mattered.

They were not columns in a notebook.