I can’t be the only parent who rates her children’s activities based on the relative torturous-ness of their associated events.

My personal scale runs from 0 to weekend-long-soccer-tournament-in-Orange-County. Lacrosse games and children’s theater are about 3; high school improv is a 5. Last night’s two-hour middle school band and orchestra concert was a 7, primarily because advanced band always goes last and all the other parents leave when their kids are done, which offends my sense of justice. If I listened to your kid saw their way through El Nino, you can stay to marvel at the unexpectedness of flute involvement in White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.

Sometimes it takes my breath away, how I love these creatures so much that I will sit through a track meet to show it. Rarely, of course, but sometimes.