Ten things that help me feel strong

1. Doing laundry. Changing the bed clothes. Teaching my daughter how to make her bed the old-fashioned way, tucking the pillows under a cheerful vintage chenille bedspread.  Folding sheets.
2. Walking through the neighborhood with my husband, my little girl, and a go-cup, assessing paint jobs and plantings, peering through leaded glass doors, holding A's hand while she "walks up high" on raised brick curbs, carrying her piggyback for two whole blocks before her heft forces me to hand her to M. Feeling sweaty and a little buzzed when we get home, rocking on the front porch as the sun goes down.
3. Starting a blog.
4. Having friends over this afternoon for grown-up cocktails.
5. Drawing fairy dresses with A. Writing a fairy story. Showing her how to write "fairy" in cursive.
6. Buying all the crap on the kindergarten supply list.
7. Cursing in the CVS about the list.
8. Using coupons to save money on the supplies. (I saved more than $17, yay.)
9. Letting A stay up late to watch Laurel & Hardy movies. Cuddling with her in our bed. Inhaling her hair while she tries to keep her eyes open. Hearing her and M laugh over the dumbest slapstick. Watching them both fall asleep; hearing them snore in unison.
10. Picking up A without waking her and depositing her in her bed. Tucking her in. Kissing her sweaty neck. Returning to bed and turning off the TV. Reading. Snoozing. Resting. Sleeping.