I've been a mother to two sons and a daughter. Girls may not suffer from broken voices, but their period of transition into adulthood is vocally and emotionally much more traumatic for a parent then anything boys offer. Girls are dramatic actresses at birth. This predilection to the state of prima donnahood becomes even more obvious when they reach their terrible teens. Tears come easily at the most inopportune times.
Smiles are special but fleeting gifts.
When she visits we rarely see her. Most of her vacation time with us is spent in the bathroom. The shower gets to know her better than we do. She does her best to remind us that teen-agers don't know what empty dresser drawers and closets are for. It's amazing how only one duffle bag of clothes fill up a whole room when strewn all over the floor.