All about Motherhood: A Mom for All Seasons and Other Essays

""Motherhood isn't a seasonal thing: it blooms all year,"" writes Livingston. Yet the author, mother of three boys, finds that the seasons of the year have taken on a much deeper meaning for her since she had children. ""They not only mark the passing of time and the growth of our children, but they reflect our own growth as women who are mothers."" These and other ruminations on parenting form the basis for this collection of 30 essays. Livingston strikes the right balance between personal and universal: though Livingston does reveal, for example, that her teenaged son listens to rap music after 10 at night, she doesn't dwell on it; rather, she uses it as a quick lead-in to an illuminating examination of the noises kids bring into a household. Other pieces offer meditations on multitasking, the funny things kids ask parents (""If I go to sleep with five fingers up will I still have five fingers up in the morning?""), a mother's fears of being separated from her child, and more. Regardless of the subject, Livingston remains inquisitive, easygoing and often witty.