I thought I’d stay happy automatically, not working and being a full-time mom. But when Kathleen was ten months old and Jon was three, I found myself shuffling through a carpeted city of red, yellow, and blue Fisher Price blocks in the living room and walking out the front storm door. Settling into our new Opel Kadett on the driveway, I glimpsed Marv standing in the doorway, a blank expression on his face I didn’t recognize. Kathleen sat on his left arm, chubby legs kicking out from her pink-striped sun suit as she waved “bye-bye to Mommy.” Jon, sailor-like in navy and white shorts and T-shirt, hugged Marv’s hairy legs as he pounded his “bye-bye” against the glass.

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