First thing’s first – this salad is for kale lovers and haters alike. It takes five minutes to prepare and can be  meal on its own, made into a messy sandwich, added to an omelet, or served on the side of whatever else you’re having. Plus, it’s pretty and healthy and if you need to feel smug – it’s frugal, too.

The second thing is that try as I might, I cannot stop time. Stupid time, making my youngest unable to button his size 6 jeans and outgrowing the striped pajamas all four of my kids wore, the cuffs slightly ragged from chewing and a decade of use. Aren’t we caught up in time – the desire for a long, tedious day of whining and exhausting voices and hands pulling at us – and also dreading the end of it because it’s one more day we can’t get back. Sometimes I find myself in bed after a day where issues ranged from small – Daniel freaked out about having to wear sneakers in gym (he is a year-round Crocs guy) – to large (those bullying prevention plans don’t always work at school) – it is easy for me to just sink into the sheets and turn out the light.

But I don’t. Not right away. Starting when the kids were all very small (in their striped pajamas), I would tuck them in and when I got into bed, I’d look at the photo on my bedside table. It’s a 4-frame, with each of them in their own little oval.  Just for a few seconds, I look at each picture and try and remember the good parts of the day, moments I want to hold onto when their hands are no longer in mine.

It isn’t easy to stop or delay time, but I can drag my feet through it.