Free Let Me Tell You Something by Caroline Manzo Page B

bench where Pope John XXIII used to go and pray every day. I saw those pinecones and I scooped them up. I keep them at the center of my home in the Great Room so their energy comes up and goes all through my house.
    The Christmas balls that my mom painted for me. I used to get a new one every year for my tree. I treasure them.
    Framed artwork by the kids when they were little. Christopher used to think he was Picasso and he’d do these crazy paintings and give them names and everything. These paintings make me smile every time I see them.
    BEHIND THE SCENES
    People wrote and told me that they loved what I said at my brother’s wedding. I didn’t want to prepare a speech, I just wanted to speak from my heart, and I’m so honored that people liked it. What I’m glad you didn’t see is that as I walked back to my seat after the speech, I totally bit it on the wet grass! It had poured the night before the wedding, and the ground was soaked and muddy. The whole time I walked up to deliver my speech, I was sure I’d fall. I was glad that it happened on my way back to my seat, and I was even happier that Bravo decided not to air my big fall.
    My mother taught her daughters how to be the lady of the house, the head of the house. It wasn’t a role she took lightly. We should start the day off well, she would instruct us. Shower, get dressed, fix up your appearance so you are ready to face the world. Make yourself presentable. Never say good-bye to your husband in the morning with bad breath, while you’re wearing sweats and scratching at your crotch, she would say. Send your husband off with a kiss.
    I know that some of you are reading it and thinking that it sounds a bit Stepford Wives, or even antifeminist, but it’s not. It helps me to get myself all sorted out and feeling good before I start my day. If I let myself slouch around in pajamas with dirty hair and bad breath until lunchtime, it would depress me. I’d start to go downhill. By tending to the details of appearance first thing in the morning, I feel good about myself and I feel excited to get things done, every day. My mother believes that God is in the details, and that as long as we always take a second to make something as special as it can be, people will appreciate and enjoy our efforts.
    In my world, it’s the simplest things, like a smile and an I-love-you cost nothing. All of my kids have been raised knowing this, and they have all embraced my mother’s traditions. My boys are sentimental. They’ll save a note I leave them, they’ll save a fortune cookie from a special dinner. I’m very sentimental too. A picture of a moment captured can melt my heart. I have every piece of stupid macaroni jewelry they ever made for me. I have every note they ever wrote me, and pictures that they drew for me. When we lived in Wayne, there was a gift shop on the corner, and every week they’d all go there and buy me a gift and I still have every single one of them. They’d get me little statues of boys praying or a little rabbit or some dried flowers. The little things mean the most to me; I will cherish them always.
    Ask Caroline
    Hi Caroline, I’m a mother of two extremely active, adorable kids (ages two and four). How can I give them my constant attention while juggling everything else I have to do—housework, cooking, cleaning, and my full-time job?
    The old saying is true: a mother’s work is never done. You can’t be all things to all people at all times. Take a step back and give yourself breathing room. Children don’t need “constant” attention—that will only lead to separation anxiety whenever you leave the room. Supervise them, but teach them to play on their own.
    Plan your weekly routine, and stick to it. Prepare for school days on the night before, do your housework a little at a time rather than in one tedious lump. Stick to your schedule, and make sure you leave