Mason and Paisley chose to make room.

Later Sadie chose adoption.

None of those choices belonged to Christopher.

And that may be the most important thing our family learned from a man who spent too much of his life deciding what everyone else was ready to know.

Love can ask.

Love can hope.

Love can explain.

But love does not get to choose the answer for someone else.

Christopher learned that too late.

The rest of us didn’t.