When my son's dad moved out, we thought our relationship was over — but we're still family

Courtesy Sara Graybeal

When my son's father moved out of the house we shared with our 3-year-old, he took his shoe collection, some pictures, and old Father's Day cards. Everything else, he left: his motorcycle, the air fryer his mother had bought us, the cigar box where he kept a stash of $20 bills. Even clothes, so many that I wondered what he planned to wear — until he came over the next day, took a shower, and put on a fresh T-shirt and shorts, as though nothing had changed.