My daughter-in-law laughed as she gave me a $2 scratch-off for my 73rd birthday. Ten months later, my own son shoved a senior living brochure in front of me and said, “We already picked your room.” They thought I was too old to fight back. They had no idea what I had been hiding.

He just didn’t make every worry your responsibility.”

Colin sat back and studied me.

“I think I did that to you.

I made you responsible for every little thing in our house.”

I waited.

It was hard not to fill the silence for him, but I had done enough of that over the years.

“I don’t remember asking you to cook every day,” he continued.

“You didn’t.