The Night Before Christmas
At one point, Hailey climbed into my lap while David sat beside Caroline, explaining something about aeroplanes with absolute seriousness.
The adults listened as though he were delivering a speech to parliament.
The sight made me smile.
Perhaps this was what victory actually looked like.
A family sitting around a table, healing. Growing. Beginning again.
As the evening slowly drew to a close, I looked around the room.
Jane, Elliot, Caroline, Desmond, Hailey and David. This is what family looked like. People connected not by perfection, but by choice.
People who had every reason to walk away. Yet remained.
The future would not be perfect.