Such a happy morning! Among the many stresses of this spring has been my younger son's angsty college-application experience. First, there were the rejections, one after the other. Thus, for the past several weeks he's been bravely coming to grips with the facts: anticipating his future at a college he doesn't want to attend, working to make the best of it, to create a plan B for himself, to imagine an alternate path, to see the bright side. None of this has been easy for this boy, who has always been melodramatic and self-excoriating. I was proud; I was anxious; I was so sad for him.

And then, miracle of miracles, he was notified yesterday evening that he's been accepted off the wait list and will be going to a school he loves. I feel as if I have just shed a thousand pounds of despair.

If a parent is only as happy as her saddest child, count me as euphoric.