The two of them sat cross-legged on the rug, surrounded by notebooks, highlighters, loose papers, and a half-finished worksheet filled with math problems. My daughter was explaining something, using her pencil to guide her boyfriend step-by-step through the equation. He was watching her intently, not distracted in the slightest.
The plate of cookies she had carried upstairs earlier was on her desk—untouched, forgotten in the middle of all the studying.
Caught completely off guard, I blurted the first thing that came to mind.
“Oh… I just wanted to see if you needed more cookies.”
She smiled. “We’re okay, thanks!”
Then she went right back to teaching, pointing at the next problem with the same concentration as before.
I closed the door gently and leaned against the hallway wall, flooded with a mix of embarrassment, relief, and quiet amusement at myself.
In that moment, I learned something I think many parents eventually discover:
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