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This album is foremost a gift for H’s and my children, and for the children in our extended family. But it’s also for you and your families, dear readers. And it’s also for you if you are not a parent in the strictest biological sense, but you’d like to laugh and ponder and cry along with us in community. And as I continue to discover, the deepest lessons that the children of the community are learning are also lessons that the adults are learning over and over again. So all these songs are for everyone!

This album is full of invitations and permissions: to turn off the screens and get outside; to say “No Thank You” to unwanted hugs; to frown and feel the world’s pain even when annoying people tell you to smile more; to breathe and take a nap and ask for help when you need it. It’s full of honest confessions and reflections about parenting: being terrified about the future we are leaving our young people; the mingled joy and grief of watching kids growing in independence; how having children can tank your sex drive; getting unsolicited advice from people about your parenting and wanting to punch them in the face; and asking the age old question “is that poop on my shirt, or is it food?”

As one song states, “parenting is an impossible task and a revolutionary act.” I hope that these songs will be a blessing to you: to deliver you from paralyzing self-seriousness, to encourage you to give yourself and the children in your care grace, and to remember the wild and mysterious vocation we’ve been given to raise this village of people together, for the common good. May it be so.