is that you often end the day feeling like, “Whew, I just got by,” like you were barely able to pass the exam and did so only by the skin of your teeth.
For Mother’s Day, Mama watched Austen play at the park with Dada — Austen was in an ignore-Mommy mood. But Mama also showed Austen that girls can do anything. Never having done woodworking before, Mama worked on coping joints for crown molding, using saw and dremmel … yes, on Mother’s Day! The upstairs library is almost finished. Mama also got to eat her favorite food (Mr. Pi’s Sushi) and drink her favorite drink (Iced Green Tea Latte at Starbucks). Uncle Mark sent an e-mail suggesting that Jen should get twice as many Mother’s Day gifts because she has two kids, instead of just one like Mama and Holly. Unfortunately, Mama got zero gifts and by the Multiplication Property of Zero, two times zero is still zero. Oh well, hopefully Emma and Erin came up with some good gifts for Auntie Jen. Auntie Lu is still waiting for her birthday cards from Emma and Erin and Morgan. When is Auntie’s Day? In the evening, Mother’s Day took a turn of the worse. Austen fell and bumped her head — there was bleeding and a bump on her scalp. Then, at bedtime, Austen ran away from Mommy. Fighting and flailing, she ran screaming down the hall to Dada. Mommy was very hurt and got sort of mad at Austen. Luckily, they made up later and exchanged a bunch of kisses. Life is always a struggle, especially with all the illness and loss we experience, but Mama is pleased with how strong, athletic, assertive, independent, unique and smart Austen is and wouldn’t trade her for a more docile child. Austen will never be a child-care provider’s easy payday, but she’s going to become an interesting woman. What’s that quote? “Well-behaved women never make history.”