Wow - you nailed it. As a mother who made the other choice - to rush out the door each morning, kissing babies who were singing the itsy-bitsy-spider with a nanny instead of me - feeling jealous of her, and also of women like you, who got to hang around at school drop off and talk while I rushed off.... This essay so clearly shows the other side - the side that mothers like me never quite knew existed. Brava, Laura! I'd say you've earned that gold medal ten-fold. With the work you've done all these years -and with this essay.