For a little while tonight, I was a meanie. Halina's terminology. Yes, tonight I had some rotten moments. I said I was sorry, then sat thinking, head in hands, that it would be nice if I could buy a meanness alert bracelet whose robotic voice would tell me, "Warning. You are starting to act like an a-hole," with lots of beeps and blinks whenever I was entering dangerous territory.

After a minute, a sweet little voice said, "I'm sorry you're feeling bad." Head still in hands, I admitted that I was. Two slender arms encircled me. "It's okay that you're mean sometimes. You're not always mean." My hair was patted tenderly. "Sometimes I'm mean, too."

I wish I could be a nice mommy all the time, I said.

"But you can't be," she explained gently. "No one can be nice all the time."

Halina. How do you know all this? Self-compassion olive branch accepted. Thanks.