She insisted on putting it on the refrigerator, next to our schedule for school and work.

We had started seeing a family therapist as well as maintaining Lily’s individual sessions.

Some visits were hard.

She still asked painful questions, and there were days when I worried about saying the wrong thing.

The therapist helped us learn that repair was not a speech delivered once.

It was a collection of repeated experiences: keeping promises, answering honestly, showing up, and allowing difficult feelings without panic.

The following Sunday, Lily asked if she could invite a friend from school over to paint stones for the garden.