Happy Birthday, Jessica!
For my beautiful daughter —
Thank you for teaching me the meaning of joy.
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On everyday magic
Last year, Jessica and I were talking about our wishes, because we like to wish upon stars. And every time we do, we have the same three wishes: that she will grow big and strong, that we will always have good work to do, and that we will live happily ever after. That day, she added…
The Faucet
The faucet is dripping. The drip is loud in the quiet room: Splat! Like a children’s book: Splat! Splat! Goes the water. “Mom?” Jessica is watching me. She says something else, a thing I can’t hear because the drip is so loud. I jump to my feet to wrench the handles shut but it’s a…
On thinking better thoughts
I am having a bad day. A hard day, following a hard week, in the middle of a hard month. We’re all having days like these, I’m sure, when our usual balms aren’t available. We can’t meet friends for drinks after work, or go to a movie, or run to the gym and punch a…
On Douglas the Dragon
We are at a shop, ducking in out of the rain, when Jessica spots a beautiful stuffed dragon that looks exactly like Douglas, except it is red and has gold wings. Douglas is turquoise with silver wings, and Jessica puts him beside me everyone morning so he can help me do my work. “There is…
On negotiation
We’re getting ready in the morning, and Jessica pops into the kitchen where I’m gathering my keys. Me: Here, let me help you with you hair. Jessica: What’s wrong with it? Me: It needs to be a little neater. Jessica: Like how neat does it need to be? Me: It needs to be 100% neat….
Story time at the library
Every other Thursday evening, I bring Jessica to the library so we can listen to the storyteller. Miss Linda is a gentle woman of late middle age, with the quietly expressive voice of an experienced kindergarten teacher. Though all of the other children who come to listen are much younger, Jessica doesn’t seem to notice or…