Chapter 14 - Lily Chose the Picture
The following spring, Lily’s school held an art fair.
She painted a red fox beneath a blue tree.
Her teacher asked whether the school could photograph students beside their work for the website.
The permission form came home in Lily’s backpack.
I read it.
Then called her.
“Do you want your picture online?”
She shrugged.
“Can I say no?”
“Yes.”
“Will my teacher be mad?”
“No.”
She thought.
Then smiled.
“I want one picture.”
“Okay.”
“But not the silly one.”
“What silly one?”
“The one where Ms. Grant told me to put paint on my nose.”
I laughed.
“Then tell her.”
“You tell her.”
“No.”
Lily frowned.
“Why?”
“Because it’s your picture.”
She stared at me.
Then understood.
The next morning she walked into school carrying the signed form herself.
That moment mattered more to me than any settlement.
May you like
Lily had learned consent did not mean adults deciding what she should be comfortable with.
It meant being asked.
