Kid's got me nailed...

Thursday on the way home from school, Rachel and I had this conversation:
Rachel: You're a great mom.
Me: What makes me a great mom?
Rachel: Because you try your hardest at stuff that isn't easy.

Can't get nothing past those blue eyes...

***

I went to the ballet tonight with my friend Melissa and her friend Marian -- it was the last performance in our yearly subscription series. Also a changing of the guard, of sorts -- two of our favorite dancers with the company are leaving for the Munich and Monaco ballet companies. So it was a bittersweet, if amazing, performance. All three works were by Balanchine and all were incredible.

And all helped me decompress from the hellish two-hour commute I had home from Salem. Why? Who knows? Who knows why traffic backs up in the highway when there are no accidents and no road construction? Who knows why I drive 2 1/2 to 3 hours every day on a stupid highway when I live in Portland for godsakes and should be biking everywhere?

I barely made it to preschool, then we raced home to meet Cori, the babysitter. I threw some food at them, hoped for the best, and was getting ready to leave when Rachel said, "Mommy! Go to your ballet! I want to play with Cori!"

I think it's charming that she thinks her babysitters are her playmates. It makes it easier to escape every once in a while.