“Just So You Know, We’re Using Your House for Christmas,” My Daughter-in-Law Texted — She Never Asked

at the neighbor’s house.

At one point, Daniel looked around, a soft smile on his face. “This is nice,” he said. “I’m not… exhausted. Or on edge.”

“Good,” I said. “Neither am I.”

Later, we played a board game at the kitchen table. There was no background noise of fifteen different conversations, no undercurrent of tension about who was sleeping where or continue reading …