I DIDN'T PLAN TO BE A WITCH - and Other Joyful Surprises of a Joyful Mother

New York: Simon and Schuster - Fireside Books, 1996. Book. Illus. by Terry Ravanelli;. Very Good+. Soft cover. First Printing - First Thus. 8vo. 190 pp. Trade paperback format. Light edge and corner wear with a flat uncreased spine; no interior markings. Cover art by Terry Ravanelli. The Chapters are: Prologue: The Journey of Motherhood; I Didn't Plan to be a Witch; Childbirth Is Both Worse and Better than in the Movies; Preschoolers Are Horrible and Adorable; Your Mother's Role Is Bigger than You Think; Getting Work Done at Home is a Myth; The Practice of Patience is Perpetual; Children Fail and So Do Mothers - or, Will Herman and I Ever Amount to Anything; Dissonance and Sibling Rivalry Are Facts of Life; Witches Live with Warlocks; Teenagers Are Like Werewolves; Christmas Makes You Realize with Real Eyes; Learning Disabilities Can Be a Great Gift; Some Day's It's Hard to Tell if You're a Mother or a Martyr; There Is Speed in Going Slow; The Kid Is Always Right - from His/Her Perspective; Adversity Is Actually Good for You - or If Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries Hire a Wolf to Knock at Your Door; The Only Thing That's Always the Same Is That Every Child Is Different; A Sense of Humor Is Your Most Important Baggage - A Look at the Eyres' Funniest Home Videos; The Hardest Part of Taking Care of Yourself: To Eat or Not to Eat - That Is the Question; One of the Habits of a Highly Effective Mother Is Simplification; PMS Makes Witches - or I'm Not Okay You're Not Okay; You Have to Keep Reminding Yourself How Much Fun You're Having; What It Is Really Important to Worry About Is Often Not What You Think; Unconditional Love Is Easy - Not Counting Unconditional Like; Praise Is a Secret Weapon; You Can Change; You Must Watch for the Moments because Tomorrow They'll be Gone; What a Difference Five Years Makes; To Succeed in Your Career as a Mother You Need a Plan; and Mothering Is Harder Than You Can Imagine and More Joyful Than You Can Fathom; followed by a postscript: Poetry and Letters to Die For..