Tonet's mother died early Sunday morning, and Monday morning she began the flights back to Eastern Samar in the Philippines to be with her family and mourn. Celestine stayed with me, and it has been an exhausting week for all the reasons in that constellation of grief, parenting, working, and the focuses that are demanded by responsibilities. I'm on my way to pick up Celestine from her school and am looking forward to a bit of weekend breathing room before two more weeks of the same.