For Lydia Pisani, life is not easy. Raising any two small children alone in this day and age is challenging at best; add into the mix her children, and every day becomes a lesson in self-control. Angela is seven years old going on twenty-five. When she zaps one of her "Get real, Mom" looks, Lydia has to wonder if Angela should rightfully be the mother, and Lydia the child. And then there's three-year-old Markie. Talk about a one-child tornado. He rips through a room, leaving an undeniable path of devastation. Angela undergoes a tonsillectomy and Lydia brings her home to recover, hoping for a day of bonding. Unfortunately, Angela sleeps on the couch all afternoon. When it's time to pick Markie up from day care, Lydia is faced with a decision: awaken the patient to drag her along, or leave her sleeping peacefully. What turns out to be her momentary lapse in judgment changes the fabric of her life for a long time to come.