Invariably, when Lorraine is with a group of friends she blurts out the good news about her kids. She can’t help herself. Oh the stress of Elise having to choose between Dartmouth and Middlebury and my Ronan’s latest adventures volunteering in Papua New Guinea during his “crazy” gap year. She hears herself gush and wants to scream, but that alone never quells her impulse to go on and on about her two children and what a miracle they are and how amazing etc. Last night at four in the morning, Lorraine rehashes her memories of the night before and blushes not with joy, but downright embarrassment.  If there were an evil eye out there eager to dispense lessons in hubris, Lorraine would have to be first in line. Sometimes she wishes someone would just tell her to shut up.