Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Cast of Characters xiii
Introduction: Go Putting an End to Not Starting 1
Insight: Words That Move a Mother 8
Lesson 1 Such a Nice Chapter: On Displeasing Some of the People Some of the Time 12
Insight: The Essential Traits of a Mother 17
Lesson 2 Running Away: Are You Still a Good Mother if You Fantasize about Bailing for a Few Hours … Or Years? 23
Insight: A Mother's Essential Reading 29
Lesson 3 Learning to Walk: After 35 Years, I'm Learning How 32
Mother Wit What If We Could Age Nonsequentially? A Cameo Wendy Abrams 37
Lesson 4 (Mom)E-Mail: A Friend in Need Is a Friend Online 39
Insight: A Mother's Heroes 50
Lesson 5 Magic Wand: Trading In the Old You 52
Mother Wit: A Mother's Hidden Talents 60
Lesson 6 Ruts, Frogs, and Jellybeans: On Getting Unstuck 61
Mother Wit: A Rhyming Summary of the Universe 70
Lesson 7 Snapshots from My Guilt Trip: No Matter What You Forget to Pack, It All Works Out in the End 75
Mother Wit: Waiting in Line for My Teenagers: A Cameo by Barb Cooke 83
Lesson 8 Life Sentence: A Stream of the Unconscionable 91
Insight: The Music of Motherhood 96
Lesson 9 6:30 P.M., Central Standard Time: How Changing Our Dinner Plans Changed Our Lives 99
Mother Wit The Cherry Falls from the Tree: A Cameo Daniel Spatucci 105
Lesson 10 Scotch Tape on the Ukulele: Welcome to Self-importance 108
Mother Wit: Lollipop Tree 115
Lesson 11 Touch the Sock: Knocking on Wood and Other Prayers 116
Grocery List 123
Punchlist for Contractor 124
Questions for Parent/Teacher Conference 125
Phone Messages 126
Corrections 128
