Obviously this is a primary coping tool: digging in with this most amazingly tender, funny, remarkable, and clever child. It’s the most fundamental place for me to go — to be in his world whether reading together or using chalk or exploring outside. It’s where I can feel certain that he is safe and thriving and well, versus the worry, preoccupation, and internal vigilance when we are apart. He’s an anchor that keeps me grounded. In turn I pray that I meet all of his needs, as he encounters them.

My favorite thing I’ve ever been is this child’s mother. My favorite thing I’ve ever done was to grow him from scratch, and that job perpetuates in parenting. I don’t take that for granted. It is a complete honor to mother him.