My parents did not come to California looking for anything fancy. They came looking for a door that would open if they pushed hard enough. My mother cleaned rooms for years, and my father worked jobs that left his hands cracked and his back hurting before he was even old.
When I was a kid, I used to be embarrassed by how tired they always were. I hate admitting that now, but it is true. I did not understand what they were carrying. Rent, food, school clothes, car repairs, and the pressure of trying to make sure their children had more choices than they did.
California was not easy on them. It still is not easy. But this is the state where they became homeowners, where their children graduated, where grandkids now run through the same little house they fought so hard to keep.
This hex is for my parents, for California, and for the chance they grabbed with both hands even when it cost them more than we knew.