She picked me up, this Mother, and set me down on a path I wasn’t expecting and didn’t know I’d been craving. She pointed me toward the kind of friends who know the truth about you within hours of meeting you; toward men who are kind and good-hearted, who laugh at thunderstorms and make music and dance barefoot by the bookshelf; toward women who show up, laugh with not at, who understand where you come from and see where you’re going because they’re on the exact same road. She nudged me into a creative discipline I’d yearned for and postponed. She stoked the fire of inspiration and reminded me why, when my fingers hit keys, my heart just swells. She reminded me that health is wealth, that fun is a fine goal to have, that feeling rain on your face can get you ready for anything.