Magnificent Michelle

Three cheers for Amy's sister Michelle. She magnanimously came to the rescue when Amy hurt her back with three months of pregnancy to go, and then stayed long enough to get us through the newborn phase and into the sleeping-through-the-night stage. Her accomplishments during her 6-month tenure with the Bankheads are astonishing. She landscaped our side yard, planted our garden, drove the preschool carpool, did the grocery shopping, cleaned the house twice a week, digitized our recipes, enabled Amy to nap daily, had the car painted and the trimmer repaired, researched what kind of trees we should buy, sold our old stuff on Craigslist, did many cool art projects with James and Sadie, built a scarecrow, gave haircuts, made pies and jam and cheese and home-made "girl scout" cookies, picked up dinner, handled some night feedings, let Amy and Paul go on dates, changed diapers, bathed children, fixed all our broken screen doors, scheduled repairmen, took the children to swimming lessons and soccer practice, and tolerated sharing a bunk bed with James. Having her around was an incredible luxury that mediated the upheaval of Amos's arrival and kept our household running during stressful times. Everyone needs such a generous and talented sister. Thank you, Michelle!