25 Things Keeping Me Sane

(As a very pregnant toddler mom.)

It was twenty minutes after 5 p.m. on a Wednesday, the sun slowly dripping down the sky like melted ice cream on a cone. The four of us had left the playground after playing chase and catch-up for hours and were standing by our cars in the parking lot. There we were, two girlfriends who had known each other since high school and their daughters who had known each other their entire little lives. I was buoyant with the aftershocks of time well spent, high on fruit snacks and good company. When the sun would finally put itself to rest that night, my heart would be filled to the brim.

But before the sun sets in southern California, rush hour begins. We had a 9.8 mile drive ahead of us that would take forty minutes to complete, and it didn’t matter. We were happily heading home. I called my husband when we got on the road and made the dinner directive: Trader Joes turkey meatballs and sweet potato fries, please. Hey Siri, play Peppa the Pig playlist. Giggles in the backseat. While the sky…