The boys asked whether we would ever all live in one house.

Lauren and I had been spending more evenings together, but neither of us wanted the children to feel that the answer depended on how cheerful or cooperative they were.

We told them we were talking about the future and that their routines mattered.

We invited questions, not votes.

Mason worried about whether his school would change.

Henry wanted a room with a good window for drawing.

Theo requested a written plan for where books would go.