What I did for love

Moms like me walk the line everyday, balancing desires to give our children the best childhood -- not too indulged, yet championed and with high self-esteem. Weighing the world and it's heavy issues spanning warfare, the economy, hatred, the environment against our daily close-in focus of bandaids, carpools and homework. Weighing our personal desires, our ambitions amidst the choice to become primary caregivers. Taking care of ourselves, chosing our moments to be self-sacrificing but not matyrs, being self-affirming but not selfish.

All this leads me to black icing and Star Wars napkins. Oh the things we do for our children. Tomorrow is Graham's special day at school. Being a summer birthday, he gets a randomly chosen "star of the week" week, and this is it. I compiled a poster of pictures from his life for the place of honor in his classroom. Tomorrow I will be allowed to read to the class. We chose Amos and Boris by William Steig. Oh, and he wanted "Mommy Cakes" with each of the twenty-one, yes 21, classmates names on them, in madeleine form, in BLACK icing atop Star Wars napkins.Good heavens, this is love.