I sat beside my daughter while she studied and neither of us needed anything

Dear Delyara, My daughter is seventeen and spends most evenings in her room now. Our conversations have become rides, reminders, meals, arguments about sleep. Last night, my laptop battery died while I was working, so I sat at the dining table where she was studying. For nearly an hour, neither of us spoke much. She highlighted notes. I read a book. Once, she pushed the bowl of grapes toward me without looking up. I pushed it back later. That was the whole evening. I realized how much I had been trying to manufacture closeness by asking questions she did not want to answer. Quiet moments with teenagers are easy to overlook because nothing visibly happens. Last night, we simply shared a table. When she went to bed, she said, “Night, Mum,” and kissed the top of my head in passing. I did not ask whether something was wrong. I am learning not every tenderness requires investigation.