Lili's favorite possession after Bai gave her
permission to help with harmless jobs. She checked the screws, sorted
washers, and carried a small cloth for wiping dust from surfaces. Bai
never let her use real tools unsupervised, but she made the child feel
included in the work. If a repair was too dangerous or complicated, Bai
explained why Lili could not help with that particular task and found
another one she could do instead. The distinction mattered. Lili was
learning that being protected did not mean being useless, and that an
adult who said no could still be taking her seriously.
One morning, Bai was replacing a cracked cover on a small electrical
unit when Lili came in with a notebook. She had copied some of the
labels from the supply shelves and drawn pictures beside them. The
drawings were crooked, and several of the words had letters facing the
wrong way, but she had clearly put a great deal of care into the work.
"I made a list," Lili announced.
