Thank you! Mama.

My mom is pretty kickass. Actually though, I'm sure that if she heard me say that, I'd probably get a stern reprimand for associating her with any such kickery. But seriously. She is. You'd think that after eight kids, the odds of at least one of us totally flying off the handle would be pretty high. But still, none of us in rehab, no shotgun weddings or elopings in Vegas, and no "vans down by the river." Play with the numbers a little bit, and I'd say that's "motherhood," whose efficiency was carefully examplified in a textbook somewhere--maybe alongside a neat little rhyme about pot pies.

So, thanks mom. And happy Mother's Day. Even in Japan.