My pregnancy was fraught with 7 months of strict bed rest, preeclampsia, aggressive fibroids, gestational hypertension, and violent morning sickness that made no distinction between morning and night. 

As I headed out one morning with the great Luther Vandross crooning in my ears, I walked past a woman who I see most mornings in a little park in my neighborhood.

When I was twelve years old, I sat for what was then known as the Common Entrance (CE) exam.