Just a little something in exchange for all those diapers you changed and sleep you missed...

One day last week. Ridiculously busy in the office, by mid-afternoon I'm starving and run out to get something quick to eat. Stopped at a traffic light, my cell phone rings. Work. A call I have to take. Someone talking about something I need to write down.

I have a pen in my shirt pocket but, after a quick survey of the front passenger area, nothing on which to write. I look over my shoulder to the back seat and catch a glimpse of a green pad, nestled against a Hello Kitty purse, some kind of Strawberry Shortcake heart-shaped container and assorted other debris. And on that pad, at some point, without telling me, Madison has managed to leave a message that renders everything else basically irrelevant.