Until she was about 18, we referred to Mia as “Natasha” to all but family. That was so no one might find out who she really was and make use of her services as babysitter extraordinaire. Life is tough for parents of young children. We do what we can to secure babysitting, even if it means not telling our best friends who is taking care of our child while we dine with them. In the end, it didn’t work. I have at least four friends who used her for babysitting (you know who you are!). I did it grudgingly and referred to such incidents to Mia as “cheating” on Seth.

Mia came to us when Seth was about seven months old. She was 14, and from the start was a natural with him. She took to her task easily and was able to help Seth (and us) throughout his childhood. Since Seth is mildly autistic, her ability to amuse, teach, and guide him while still a teenager was no mean feat. Now, she’s all grown up, teaching kindergarten at Margaret Mead Elementary in the Lake Washington School District. We were hoping she’d end up at Seth’s school. Actually, I was kind of hoping she’d drop out of high school and move in with us. But that never happened. And if I’m honest, I really didn’t want that for her.

Despite her many, many strengths – brains, beauty, wit among them – Mia has a glaring weakness: she can’t cook. Luckily for her, I can, and I promised her I’d teach her. So this is Mia’s online cooking school where I hope to teach her the basics of how to cook great-tasting food without a lot of effort.