Like you, I woke up to learn that the despicable Republican party was foiled, yet again, in its midnight attempt to destroy my health care. I have consistently voted against Susan Collins as senator; I voted against John McCain as president; yet along with Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, they appear to be the only moral voices among their colleagues. The malice, the sheer evil, of the party is breath-taking.

And then there's the sideshow with the White House staff, involving schoolyard insults and middle-of-the-night phone calls to reporters and deleting Tweets for the the purpose of "transparency." It's like living in a world invented by professional wrestlers.

So in the face of all of this garbage, I am glad to have something to celebrate. Today my magnificent firstborn son, James, is 23 years old. He has spent his life raring to light out for the territories, to do everything by himself, to invent and cogitate and untangle every knot. And now, a year after graduating from college, he is working full time for a well-established network television show. He is sharing his life with a charming and intelligent woman. He has grown up to be funny, resourceful, responsible, and loving. I cannot believe that I, the flustered unemployable one, managed to raise such a sensible person. And today I will celebrate his birthday by buying airline tickets to go visit him in September.