He wanted to stay in the guest room for now, but he wanted a written agreement making it clear he could leave without hurting my feelings.

We wrote it up together with the housing coordinator’s help.

He would chip in a modest amount for groceries when he could, make his own medical decisions, and have his privacy.

We agreed that family visits and shared meals would be invitations, not duties.

“Feels a little silly,” he said after he signed.

“What does?”

“Writing down that we’re allowed to tell each other no.”

“I think it would have spared this family a lot of grief if somebody had written it down earlier.”