She once told me that relationships weren’t measured by how many difficult conversations people avoided.

They were measured by whether the conversations could happen honestly.

I wished I’d remembered that before the engagement.

I couldn’t change the past.

But I could decide what I would accept in the future.

By the first snowfall, the house felt like ours again.

Not because every trace of Oliver had disappeared.

Because the routines belonged to us.

Harry practiced soccer in the driveway.

Megan played music while helping Lucy with homework.