I ate a snickerdoodle in the bath tonight. That’s just the kind of day it was. The kind of day that demanded my comfort couplet, baths and cookies, never before enjoyed together at the same time. Till tonight. And it was brilliant, like hitting the double dose on a z-pack and feeling better hours later, but faster.

Today was one of those what-the-eff-is-going-on kinds of days that spawn an insufferable emotional hangover, marked by a slight head throb and dewy, reddish puffs for eyes the next day. And so, at the end of today, I took the baggie containing the last remaining generous-neighbor-baked cookie up to the bath. I got in, let the hotness lap my travel-tired body and I ate that snickerdoodle.

I emerged from the bath a little lighter. Then I sat for a while, wrapped in a towel. And then Brian came upstairs to say the magical, healing words, “Babe, I’m so sorry…”

I’ll still have the hangover tomorrow, but the emotion got its remedy.

The relief helped me recall the conversation I overheard between my two- and four-year-old sons today, which, if I reflect on it deeply enough, might just take the sting out of my tomorrow-eyes as well.

Me: Hey, guys. While we’re waiting for the computer to turn on, tell each other one thing you love about each other. Snuggle in and I’ll be right back.

Charlie: Kip, I love your heart and your love.

Kip: Aw, fanks! Charlie, I wuv your heart and your wuv. And your nose.

(Long pause. Then joyful laughter.)

If you feel so inspired, tell someone what you love about them today. Alternatively, apologize. If applicable, do both. And may you avoid an emotional hangover in the process.

Charlie and Kip are surprisingly receptive to my distraction method while awaiting an afternoon movie in bed. “Tell each other one thing you love about each other,” I suggest. They answer in the blink of an eye.