My 5-year-old daughter has just started kindergarten. Now that she wakes
up earlier, she sometimes watches me get dressed for work in the morning.
One recent morning she asked, "Why did you suck in your tummy to tuck in
your shirt?" as she mimicked my actions. "To make it easier to put the
shirttail in my pants, and to make the shirt look neat," I replied. Then
she asked, "So now why are you pushing it out?" All I had was the truth,
"I'm not, sweetheart . . . that's just how it is."
Fred Robinson
Bethesda
I am David and Mario Antonio's mother and Mario's wife. At work I am
the program manager. When I got married I changed my name because the world
insisted on filing my records under "del," which was part of my combined
first name. Recently, my best friend in high school who was visiting asked
me, "Maria del Carmen, did you bring the dog in?" No one had called me
that in 33 years! For one brief moment I regained my identity. I remembered
me -- a girl with long hair, hip-huggers and a heart full of dreams.
Carmen M. Marsans
Silver Spring
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