I walked through the grocery store without calculating every dollar in my head.
I bought fresh strawberries simply because Emma smiled every time she saw them.
At bedtime, she wrapped her tiny arms around my neck.
“I love you, Mommy.”
Three words.
Worth more than every paycheck I would ever receive.
Months passed.
Then one afternoon, I received a phone call from my old high school.
The principal wanted to know if I would return as the commencement speaker for the next graduating class.
My first instinct was to say no.
Public speaking terrified me.
But then I remembered standing alone years earlier, convinced my life was already over.
Maybe someone else in that audience felt the same way.
So I accepted.
Standing behind the podium exactly one year after earning my degree felt surreal.
Hundreds of graduates looked back at me.
Some excited.
Some terrified.
Some pretending everything was okay.
I took a slow breath.
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