We spent hours in a shared, quiet space. I would do my remote work, and she would sit near me, drawing or playing a silent game on her phone. We stopped talking about grades and started talking about the characters in her sketches.
That was the first crack in the wall.
Setbacks are not starting over. They are data. They tell you where the raw nerve still lives. Thank them. Adjust. Move on. 30 Days with My School-Refusing Sister
She laughed. First time in weeks.