It landed like a slap I didn’t even feel at first. One tiny word that drained the light from her eyes and turned our kitchen into a stranger’s house. I thought I was being casual. I thought I was being funny. Instead, I told the woman holding our entire life together that she was “just” a mom. Days later, when the reunion photo arrived and I saw the way others had once seen her — leader, glue, anchor — the shame hit like a freigh… Continues…