Chapter 19 - The Family That SurvivedYears later, our lives were almost unrecognizable from that terrible Sunday.
Lily was preparing for college.
She wanted to work with traumatized children.
Noah was becoming a confident young boy.
Ryan and I still ran Family Grounds.
Sarah was still deeply involved in Lily's life.
Ryan's father visited often.
Jennifer had become part of our extended family.
The people who once surrounded Diane had been replaced by people who understood love differently.
One evening, Lily brought home her latest painting.
It showed four figures standing beneath a huge golden sky.
Above them were the words:
FAMILY IS LOVE.
I stared at it.
“You painted us.”
She smiled.
“I painted what family means to me.”
Ryan wrapped an arm around her.
And I realized something.
Diane had once believed family meant ownership.
We had learned that family meant freedom.
Safety.
May you like
Choice.
Love.
