As a single dad, I was sitting on a park bench braiding my 7-year-old daughter’s hair before her recital. An older woman looked at us and said, “Poor girl, no mother to do it right.” I ignored the comment and kept fixing my daughter’s hair.

My daughter suddenly stood up on the bench, looked the woman in the eye, and calmly replied, “Actually, we’re sufficient.” The woman had nothing else to say and quietly sat down.

My daughter then smiled, held out her hair, and said, “Dad. The bow.” I finished tying the bow, and we walked into the recital together. She gave a wonderful performance, and I couldn’t have been prouder.

On the drive home, she asked if I was hurt by the woman’s comment. I told her I wasn’t. She nodded and simply said, “Good. Because she was wrong.” She said it with complete confidence—as if she were stating an obvious fact—and in that moment, I knew we were doing just fine.