They arrived at my beach villa without asking and acted like I was there to serve them, but when my sister demanded breakfast at 5 a.m., I quietly made plans for a very different kind of morning

Melissa handed me a cup.

“I still think the shuttle was dramatic,” she said.

I took the coffee.

“I still think five a.m. eggs were worse.”

She laughed.

So did I.

The best part of that morning surprise wasn’t sending them away.

It was teaching them that my door could stay open without my boundaries disappearing.