River Crossings

River crossings are the discrete, dangerous transitions on the trail. In the framework they are the named events: a new placement, a reunification, a school change, a sibling separation, a return from a hospital stay, a court date, an aging-out. Pieces in this part address the structure of a hard transition rather than the day-after-day terrain. They cover the rehearsal of a transition before it happens, the rituals that mark an arrival, the recognition that a child crossing a river is using all their attention to stay upright, and the practice of guarding bandwidth for the child during the crossing. They include the work after a crossing as well, the long unpacking on the other side. Forms that fit this part include `STAGE_GUIDE`, `STRATEGY_PRACTICE`, `HELP_TONIGHT` for the night before a crossing, `POLICY` on transition protocols, and `TRAIL_STORY` for a crossing that held. The journey vocabulary includes: the crossing ahead, both feet planted, the far bank.