I began imagining a life with my daughter that was not defined by the yard.

I wanted her to know birthdays without tension at the table, holidays without guessing what might provoke anger, and ordinary mornings when a spilled cup was only a spilled cup.

I wanted those things for myself too.

The day we moved into the little rental near Renata, I stood in the kitchen for almost an hour choosing where to put a set of chipped mugs.

Nobody corrected me.