At the end of Katrina Kenison's delightful first memoir about motherhood and nurturing (Mitten Strings for God), the question remained, "Yes, but would the boys stick to her regimen when they reached the teen years?" This is where her second memoir, The Gift of an Ordinary Day, begins and the answer to the question is no.

As the boys grew out of boyhood, she struggled with her initial ideal of simplifying life. As Kenison reads (another plus for this memoir), the reader gets the feel of the struggle she must have endured.

She struggled with her decision to uproot the family and move in with her parents. From her tone in reading, the reader can discern that she was never satisfied with this arrangement. Except for the hope expressed in the title, the reader may think the whole idea is going down the tube.

Then she sees this house; and the beautiful prose that she uses to describe both the house and the landscape tips the reader off that everything is going to be OK. After many set backs and doubt, the system begins to pay dividends again.

Kenison gives readers examples of how they can provide kids with what they really want—quality time with their parents and family. Not many parents can go to the extent that Kenison did, but they can lessen the hectic pace that is at the center of our culture. Not all the gifts are pleasant but they are nevertheless.

Your family may not achieve the Cleaver-like family (and you may not want to) that Kenison has portrayed, but there are enough ideas in here to make your relationship more meaningful than a new toy or trip to summer camp.

This is a good book for thoughtful consideration.