Mystery reader!

Rachel doesn't know this, but I have a schedule for the whole year of when I'll be mystery reader, but I can't tell her that because it has to be a surprise. The teacher asked for more clues from me (she gives out the clues the week before), and so I had to be inventive. Some of the clues were:

--I'm a first-generation American; my parents were born overseas
--I have a good memory
--I could roller-skate and ice skate when I was a kid

This morning, Rachel crawled into bed (I awoke suddenly after a deep sleep and a weird dream) and asked, "Do you have a good memory, Mommy?"

"I don't have a good memory for anything these days, sweetie," I answered sleepily, and she seemed very disappointed.

But she was so happy to see me when I came into class today! She ran over and hugged me. I read two Native American stories in advance of Native American read-in day next Tuesday, which I would sign up to do except I have GOT to get moving on my next magazine story, and afterward she asked me if I could take her home straight after school, and I said yes. We ended up doing some more shopping for the holidays (including a beautiful dress and sweater for Thanksgiving and snow boots, which she really needed) at Target. I had dinner on the table by the time Drew got home at 7:30, so Rachel got to bed early for a change. Which is great, because we've got a lot of errands to do tomorrow and we're making dinner for Regan McAllister, the daughter of my friend Jeannette who is a student at GWU, and I need to do some straightening out a bit.

***

At dinner tonight, Rachel said -- upon being continually corrected my me on her table manners -- "You know what? When I grow up, I'm gonna do all the things you don't let me do now."

"Like what?" we asked.

"Eat sugary cereal," she said. "Not mind my manners, and have an iPod so I can bop to my music."

Really, sometimes it's all I can to do hold in my laughter.