Dad and Little Girl win one

Cue "Ode to Joy." Let the dancing begin. The Little Girl has said yes.

I'd been scrambling for school after-care and I found a spot I'd hoped she'd like.

She likes.

There was popcorn, dress-up time, and homework. The children were sweet, the adults who run the place were solicitous and patient.

People often say that at moments when knotty problems are resolved, they feel weight being lifted off them. I am tons lighter this morning because professional child-care workers have created a safe and stimulating environment that my picky daughter approves of.

Happiness and sorrow rest on such fickle things. If a care-taker had been cross, if a kid had been mean, the Little Girl's review of the place might have been vastly different. And she'd never have given circumstances the chance to self-correct.

But there is joy and strutting today. Our little family won one. Single parents without margin for error learn to savor the positives.

Today, I'm smiling.