As Melissa talked, I was reminded of the time I was up on my computer until 2:00 a.m. to make a deadline and woke up at 6:00 a.m. to take my son to school. I found him in tears because the tooth fairy hadn’t come. While he was brushing his teeth, I “found” a bill behind his bed that the tooth fairy must have dropped, but my son did not fall for it. This beautiful, gentle child, whom I birthed, looked at me through narrowed eyes and handed me back the money with a note that read “TO [sic] LATE.” Everyone at that table in Nashville had a story of something seemingly small that illustrated how no
...more
