I’ve been doing fine, really. There’s that moment right after my alarm rings at 6:30 a.m. that I wonder what the hell I’m doing and WHY. Then the fog clears and I remember things, monosyllables at first: WORK. GOOD. CASH. TRIPS. Not exactly what you’d put in the “Objectives” section on a resumé, I’ll grant you that.

But I’ve been missing the kids and my weekday routines. And I’ve been missing my extended family. Passover is coming, but it’s not that close.

Which is why, even though I wasn’t  home to greet her when she arrived (for the first time in perhaps ever), I am so thrilled that my mom is here. And I’m not even sick this time. She doesn’t have to tend to anyone sick, in fact (though I’ll be happy to outsource to her the giving of antibiotics to Young A, who is recovering from strep and needs them for another week). I wished I could have been there to see the kids bouncing around because she’d arrived.

She also brought me a replica of a curative amulet, in Hebrew but originating in 18th or 19th century Persia, which I will be wearing often between now and the indefinite time in the future when I am cleared of all charges. It is also, objectively, a beautiful object.

Thank you, Mom.