FRIDAY NIGHT PIZZA

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There are certain things

that even mothers

are afraid of...

crime statistics in her neighborhood,

larger-than-usual numbers on the bathroom scale,

smaller-than-usual balances on bank statements;

cholesterol counts, waist circumferences,

Body Mass Indexes,

days until she facilitates that big meeting;

interest rates on her credit cards,

the number of stitches her wounded child needs,

emergency room bills;

too-few months left to a parent with cancer,

non-existent hours of uninterrupted sleep,

overdraft fees;

Teacher-to-child ratios at school,

overwhelming odds of getting that raise,

too many kids crowding her own at daycare;

immense stacks of papers to sort,

heaps of mouldering laundry that reach the ceiling,

not enough hours in the day;

the absence of smiles,

an extreme lack of hugs,

mileage on an irreplaceable beat-up minivan—

But there's an immeasurable amount of love in her child's eyes.

She does the math, counts her blessings.

Life balances out, in the end.