What they think work is for

Your children watch you leave every morning and come back every evening. They see the coat, the bag, the phone at the table. From that, they are quietly building an answer. What is a grown-up life for? Mostly, they hear the tired version: the traffic, the deadline, the email that ruined lunch. They rarely hear why you keep going. The part you are proud of. The person you helped. The thing you are building for later. That reason exists, even in a heavy week. It just never gets said out loud at home.