"When I don't parent with grace and instead react out of anger or frustration, I
feel terrible, especially because it probably could have been prevented if I had gone to bed
earlier the night before."
For many years, I've devoted myself completely to my children, believing it was
best for them. But you can't pull water from an empty well, and this past year my well went
dry.
If life goes according to plan, I'll have one more when I'm 29 and, by 30, my husband and I will be selling car seats, hitting the tail end of diapers and settling into life as a minivan family.
For a few hours Kate didn't have to do our emotional labor or be the default
parent. No one asked her to make his brother return a toy or to check the tone in an email. She
didn't have to perform appreciation for a breakfast in bed we would have made wrong. For one day,
she didn't have to take care of anyone.
