Because I had finally understood something essential.
You can love your daughter with all your heart without being available every minute of every day.
You can love your grandchildren without giving up your entire life.
You can be generous without sacrificing yourself.
And you can say no without loving anyone less.
That evening, before going to bed, I opened my wardrobe and hung my blue sweater where I could see it.
Then I turned off the light.
Tomorrow, I would meet my friend.
We would have coffee, talk about everything and nothing, and perhaps decide to plan a little trip together.
I didn’t know where we would go.
But that no longer mattered.
For the first time in a long while, I didn’t need to know the destination to feel excited about leaving.
I simply needed to remember that my life still belonged to me.
And if this story has taught me anything, it is this:
