When We Were Opening Christmas Gifts, My 5-Year-Old Shouted, “Yes! The Other Mom Kept Her Promise!”

seemed distracted, emotionally somewhere else. He worked long hours. I told myself stress explained everything.

I should have listened more closely to the quiet discomfort I kept pushing aside.

Especially after what I now think of as the babysitter situation earlier that year.

We had been feeling distant, so we tried to fix it the way responsible adults continue reading …