Page 131 of Wish Upon A Star

“Bye-bye, mof! Bye-bye!”

“Bye!” I say, waving.

Charlie wiggles, and I put him down. He stands there at my feet for a moment, looking around, hands clasped at his chest. Looks up at me. Smiles, just because.

And then he spies a big fat grasshopper, and he lets out a positively evil little cackle and takes off at top toddler speed, hands outstretched.

Normally, I’d saygood luck, buddy. But this is Bug, my best boy, my son, and as unlikely as it may sound, he’s weirdly amazing at catching bugs. He caught a bee once, and it didn’t sting him. Just crawled on his hands and arms, and I swear it looked at him before it flew away.

Wes strides into the backyard, then.

He’s put on muscle, and grew a beard over the past year. I like it on him.

Singin’ in the Rainwas a smash hit with the critics and audience alike, even though it was delayed more than three months, when Wes adamantly refused to leave my side in the hospital.

The leukemia did indeed vanish, and two and a half years later, hasn’t returned.

My reproductive system didn’t experience a miraculous recovery, though, so we immediately began discussing adoption.

It took time, as these things do.

But then, on May 3, we went back to the same hospital I nearly died in, and we went home with Charlie.

What else is there to say?

I’m a mom.

I sing for my boys, and I cook dinner, and I work out with Dinah. We go to premieres and parties together. There’ve been any number of pieces written about our story, including an in-depth interview withDateline.

But mostly, I’m just…living.

And endlessly, impossibly grateful for every moment.