There were difficult conversations with the school, and some activities had to be adjusted.

The world did not end.

Emma still drew, Oliver still asked questions about space, and Daniel discovered he could handle an uncomfortable phone call without asking me to make it for him.

My first impulse when I heard about those adjustments was to offer a little money to make things easier.

I had to remind myself that rescuing them from every consequence would teach the same old lesson again.

Instead, I asked how the children were coping and listened.