I told her to take the rest of the day; she had earned it.

And when she had gone, I opened the envelope and read the summary of how it had all ended, and felt, sitting there in the quiet with my coffee, a peace so complete it was almost weightless.

I notice that peace most on ordinary mornings like that one, and I have learned not to take it for granted, because I know exactly what it is made of.

It is the peace of a person whose outer life and inner life have finally come into alignment — who is doing, for a living, the precise thing she most believes in, and living, at home, entirely free of anyone she has to fear or manage or perform for.