I never imagined my life would fracture so cleanly in a single sentence.
My daughter was only seventeen when she gave birth. Still a child herself, still halfway through school, still figuring out who she was. When she stood in my kitchen holding that tiny baby, her eyes hollow with exhaustion but stubborn with resolve, she told me she was going to leave school and find work. She said she needed me to watch the baby while she worked, just until she got on her feet.
