For the first time since my divorce, it felt like we had finally reached calm land after a long storm.

I was wrong.

The Unease I Tried to Ignore

Emma turned seven this year. Sleeping had always been hard for her.

She would wake up crying, confused, sometimes screaming in terror she couldn’t explain. On bad nights, she wet the bed. On worse ones, she’d lie awake staring into nothing, like her mind had wandered somewhere I couldn’t follow.

I assumed it came from growing up without a father. When Evan entered our lives, I hoped that hole would slowly close.