This text message from Maddy made me laugh and wins the prize for the most random text of the month. She was doing homework one afternoon when I was in New York and she texted this:

Hey mom what is the value of x when y=0?? and what is the value of y when x=0?

Umm?  Hmmm. I wished I could have given an easy answer. My hazy memory of algebra suggests that certain are needed in cases like this--pesky things like an equation and variables.  Context.

I love that she thought I'd know this--as though I am a Mommy Magic 8 Ball. Underneath the amusement I identify with that desire to survey everyone else when faced with impossible-seeming questions.

Love that girl. And, by the way, she figured it out on her own after all.

Also, I just found this picture on my phone, taken last summer, evidence of how very much kids change in just a handful of months. She looks so young here!