Because my father made sure I didn’t.
He filled every space with care.
He worked long hours—longer than most people realized—but he never let that exhaustion follow him home in a way that changed how he treated me.
Mornings started early.
I’d wake up to the sound of him in the kitchen, moving quietly so he wouldn’t disturb me, even though I was usually already awake. When I opened my lunchbox at school, there was always something extra inside.