May 27

As the school year winds down, the end-of-year activities ramp up. Today, Abby and her classmates took the annual fifth graders' trip to an Oakland A's game. Since Adam was able to work from home, I went along as a chaperone/driver. These five were my girls for the day:

As we drove to the Coliseum, I listened to the twittering and giggling and singing from the back seat and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude wash over me. I won't pull any punches here: Abby absolutely makes me nuts sometimes. In fact, she made me nuts this morning when she had a massive tantrum over me brushing her hair for her. (It was a mess. It had to be done.) But listening to her laughing with her friends --with these girls she's been in class with since, in some cases, kindergarten-- was like listening to a clip of the best symphony ever played.

I'm thankful that I now have that special memory, and for good and kind girls who were raised by good and kind parents.