To my own mother, it was an article of faith to show no favoritism. If two of us asked her whose drawing she liked best, the answer was predetermined: I like them just the same. When I tried to trick my mother by saying I had done both drawings myself, she saw right through me; she understood that children are constantly trying to elicit evidence of who is ahead and who is behind. And to the end of her life, if someone tried to draw my mother out in public praise, by saying, with reference to some particular milestone or achievement, oh, you must be so proud of your child, she would respond, firmly, yes, I’m proud of all my children.