To start appreciating her new situation, Gary says Corretta should take the time to enjoy the simple tasks with her daughter, like folding laundry or baking cookies. "You are not a housekeeper. You are taking care of your home," he says. "Good mothers are highly intelligent people. They read their children's feelings. They take the time to spend with them."

Nor does Corretta have to leave her professional skills behind. "Maybe you need to come through this and write a book about how you take all that executive experience and translate it to being the best mom in the world for your kid," he says. "Make now work."