Since then, there's been a million times that worries, ones that used to keep me up at night, have gotten turned around on me. Sometimes I just have to laugh at how silly my old worries seemed. This year in school our daughter had the sex class. We always said she could ask us anything, we'd answer any questions she had. What did she come up with? Mama, how many people have you slept with? Oh, the innocence. The redness in my face matched the glass of wine I spilled all over the dinner table as I fumbled for the right words, not wanting to lie, but... isn't there an option B? My answer began with well, mine was a crooked path, I didn't know what being gay was....  Y'all, this parenting thing, I had no idea.

This week, one of her theater friends is watching Heartstopper on Netflix. We sat down as a family and watched the first three episodes. I am so proud of Netflix for airing a show like this and what our new world has become. Heartstopper is a series about a gay high school boy who has a crush on a rugby player. There are scenes where the two boys are hesitant about texting each other, showcasing the awkwardness of communication in teenage years, as they type and delete, type and delete. When they finally get the courage to touch, their pinky fingers barely glancing each other as they attend a 16th birthday party, they show cartoon fireworks and exploding flowers around the boys' hands. I never imagined I would live through a day where I felt it was appropriate for me to explain to my twelve-year-old that those kind of sparks happen with straight people, too! Wow. My old list of worries? I can hardly remember what they were. But how proud I am of the new stuff, the real stuff.

Sixth grade had been a little harder on Senia Mae than previous years at school. She got into band and a theater group as well as being in gifted and accelerated classes. When she started coming home with some Bs on her report card, Kim and I said we would accept those grades as long as it was the best she could do. Senia Mae claimed she was doing her best, but when Kim upped the ante, saying that if her final report card had all As she would buy her an Apple watch... suddenly, everything changed. I learned that effective parenting is not about just dangling a carrot, but dangling the right carrot. Again, who knew? Senia Mae bolted down the stairs to the house, proud as a peacock as she talked into her new Apple watch. Siri, call Mama, she said, a smile overtaking her entire face. Siri's reply? Which one? My chest became so big, full of all the love pouring into it. 

I know this one little snippet isn't going to be the answer to all of my problems, or even a smidgeon of the world's problems, but at this moment, all is right in my sphere. I love this crazy world we live in, I love this kid, and now, I love you Siri!