Update:  
I am now an expert shower water adjuster.
And I've mastered hiding vegetables in what I cook.

Most important update: 
My kids will have marvelous manners.
I'm not sure that I will have kids.

I showed up to work dressed completely in grey and black.  Drab.  I think I did my hair in the car and I spaced off my mascara.  But her lunch was packed, her karate uniform folded neatly in her backpack, and her face washed.

God, please don't let me be a tired, beat mom some day.  It's one of my greatest fears.

So I made some changes.  I stayed late after Karate talking with a friend.  No more UNO for a while darling, I'm going to freshen up.  A shower and blow dry later, and I didn't mind cooking dinner.  Or kicking her tail in cards. And while she read for an hour in her room, I caught up with my sister.

The biggest lesson that I have learned in this place is balance.  Not black and white, same-day-after-same-day balance.  That makes me want to die.  But balance in my reactions and responses to life.  Knowing when to smile and when it's ok to frown.  When to step back and play and when to dive in and get messy.

Bring on adulthood.  I'm ready to grow into it.