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she’d think. But now she realized how judgmental she’d been. With Jack’s work schedule, Luke’s baseball practice and guitar lessons, and the girls’ soccer team and dance lessons, it was hard to find time when everyone was home together. More often than Claire liked to admit, dinner was spent in the car, before they piled out of the vehicle for their next activity, or else, she found herself standing at the kitchen counter, eating her own meal while she prepared everyone else’s food. No, having three kids with active schedules wasn’t easy and it was a constant juggling act. She just hoped she kept the balls in the air more often than she dropped them.
    An hour later, with full bellies and a large box of leftovers Claire would need to put in her mother-in-law’s fridge when they arrived, they were all back in the car. As predicted, the kids immediately put the headsets back on their ears and were immersed in their music before they left the parking lot.
    â€œWhy do we always stop at this place?” Jack asked Claire, as he backed out the car. “We don’t even like the food, and it never fails to give me heartburn.”
    Claire laughed at the truth in Jack’s statement.
    â€œTradition. Habit. We’ll try something new next time.”
    â€œHey,” Jack said, turning to Claire for a moment, “I heard you singing to the kids last night. It sounded nice.”
    â€œThanks.”
    â€œI miss your singing. And, you used to play the piano all the time.”
    â€œThat was before we had three kids,” Claire said wistfully. Though she appreciated that Jack always said nice things about her music,she had to admit that when he brought it up, the topic made her uncomfortable. It’d been years since she’d felt she had the time and energy to devote to her singing. It wasn’t that she no longer enjoyed her music. It was just there were so many other, seemingly more important, areas of her life that took precedence these days. There were PTA meetings and carpool and Boy Scouts and dance classes. Yet, every time Jack brought up her music, she felt a pang of guilt. And perhaps regret. She’d put her life and career on hold to have a family, and she’d never been disappointed in her decision. Her husband and kids filled her life with such joy and purpose. But—and she hated to admit there was a “but”—wasn’t there a part of her that wondered where in her music career she’d be now if she hadn’t given it all up to stay home and raise a family?
    She’d never expressed those feelings to Jack. She never wanted him to think she wasn’t happy on the path she’d chosen for her life, because truly, she was. She knew when Jack brought up her music, he wasn’t doing it to pressure her or try to imply she wasn’t doing enough with her life. He wasn’t that kind of husband. He just wanted her to be happy and he knew music had always given her pleasure in the years before they’d had children.
    A year before she found herself pregnant with Luke, Claire had begun to experience quite a bit of success with her music, something she’d dreamed of since she was a child. But when she learned she was pregnant, she made the decision to put that part of her life on hold to stay home with her baby.
    â€œI know life’s crazy,” Jack said, “but maybe you could start performing again.”
    â€œOh, yeah,” Claire said, sarcasm thick in her voice. “In my spare time.”
    â€œThe twins are in school now and you have a little bit more time than you did when they were small. Maybe you could go to an open mic night sometime at the café downtown.”
    â€œI don’t know…” Claire hesitated.
    â€œCome on,” Jack said, giving her a soft smile. “I’d be there in the front row, cheering you on. At least say you’ll think about it.”
    Claire sighed.