Dedication

For my parents, with love.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ONCE AGAIN, I couldn’t have written this book without the encouragement and love of my husband, Tim, and our kids. This past year when we were all working and learning in close proximity to each other, I was especially grateful that you are awesome coworkers as well as wonderful family members.

To my parents, who are not the inspiration for these parents, and to my sisters—I love you all and count myself lucky to be related to people I enjoy so much!

I am so thankful for my dedicated agent, Melissa Jeglinski, for her expertise, advice, and encouragement. Her warmth, humor, and unflagging support have been incredible gifts.

Editor Terri Bischoff’s insights made this a much better book, and her words of praise helped me power through revisions. I’m especially indebted to Madeline Rathle for her marketing magic, Melissa Rechter for making everything run smoothly, Rachel Keith, Melanie Sun, and the whole team at Crooked Lane Books for bringing this book into being.

Many thanks to all the friends with whom I’ve traded pages and critiques, commiserated and rejoiced, including Erin, Kena, Bill, Chuck, John, Melissa, Rodney, Alice, Anne, Betty, Cheryl, Alisa, Grace, Angélique and David. Thanks to Lisa for her friendship and her geographical advice. Special thanks to Heather and Barbara, for telling me everything would be okay (and then reading my pages just to be sure), and to my dear Stacey, for dragging, bullying, and forcing me to create the book I dreamed about writing. I’m eternally grateful to be in the writing trenches with you.

And this book is especially for the friends I’ve made in groups including the New Territory Women’s Association and the Blacksburg Newcomers’ Club. None of these organizations are at all like the Bluebonnets, save in a single respect. Much like Kacy, I met some of my closest friends by taking the first step and walking into a roomful of strangers.

Dear Grace,

You’re not even two years old, way too young for the lessons I have to share. You’re still learning to say simple words like Daddy and dog. I describe everything we do as we do it, like the narrator to a film we’re living. Modeling, it’s called, by speech therapists and child development experts in parenting books. It’s the way I put words together as I demonstrate the action—phrasing a question, then providing the answer. “Shall we make lunch?” “Let’s see what’s in the fridge.” “Do you want juice?” “After lunch, it’s time for nap.” And so on.

And all the while you putter around your play kitchen, dropping wooden blocks into a small pot and feeding your baby doll or offering a block to the bewildered dog.