From the mailbag: Samantha writes: You and Caitlin seem to have quite an amazing relationship. Has it always been so peachy? Don’t you ever lose your cool?

Dear Samantha: Like Kiera, my daughter came into my life to slap me upside the head and wake me up out of any sleep-walking through life I might have been inclined to do. From the very beginning, Cait has had a way of getting and holding my attention. Right from the emergency C-section, after a very long labor, through the first six weeks while we waited to find out if she was permanently deaf. It was a wake-up call a minute.

Putting all that excitement aside, I just plain really like Cait. She cracks me up. What’s even nicer is that those feelings are mutual. We thoroughly enjoy each other’s company; we always have.

As for losing my cool? Put me behind the wheel of a car in heavy traffic and my cool goes poof! But with Cait? Hardly ever. It’s not worth it — she gets absolutely crushed, as in flattened like a pancake. I learned early that talking things out with her gets us both a lot farther.

So, getting back to your original question, has it always been so peachy? The short and long answer is yes. But check back in a few years when she’s in full teen-age swing… :)