I’m cheating a little this week. I’m borrowing a writing prompt from Mrs. B’s fifth-grade writing class. One of E’s least favorite things about fifth grade is all the writing she must do. Almost every day involves writing a short essay, just a few paragraphs, on a variety of topics.

Having Teacher Mom looking over her shoulder adds to the “misery” of her assignments, or at least that’s what she tells me. Since writing is so important to me, and also something I enjoy doing, I’ve pulled out all the stops when it comes to trying to convince her that this isn’t something to be dreaded, but rather something to be enjoyed. So, this week, I made a deal with her. She could pick any of her prompts, and I would write my column about it.

She picked, “What brings you joy in a day? What are things that brighten your day?” This was a tough one for her, and I know she thinks she’s paying me back from one of our more unpleasant exchanges.

When it was her assignment, and I sat with her to do a brainstorming session, most of the things that bring her joy are things that she hasn’t been able to do for a long time, like being with her friends, or going shopping, or even going to swim practices. Instead of bringing joy, our initial conversation brought some tears with it. Going down the road of all the things that make us unhappy lately was a lot easier than finding even a sliver of joy.

Instead of doing her homework, we ended up having a long talk about all the things we miss, and how it feels like things will never go back to normal. There were a lot of tears shed by both of us. Then I’m pretty sure we ended up drowning our miseries in some ice cream and calling it a day.

The next day, the assignment still loomed over our heads, and I wasn’t up for another day of moping. So, as she was getting ready that morning, I said, casually, “what can we do today that would make you happy?” Her immediate response was, “bake cupcakes.”

About a second later, she looked at me and called me out. “You tricked me, Mom,” she said. “You got me to say something that brings me joy.” As we made our cupcakes, we talked about all the reasons we felt happy about it, and that evening, when she finally sat down to write, the words just flew onto the paper.

So the table is turned now, and she wants me to write about the things that bring me joy. I told her it wasn’t very fair, because I had to squeeze a lot of joy into one small column.

That day was a turning point for both of us when it comes to doing her homework, and that in itself is a reason to be joyful. I learned something about how to motivate her, and she learned that she didn’t have to be overwhelmed or perfect every time when it came to writing. Teaching her something and watching her put it into action is a real joy. It’s easy to lose sight of that sometimes, especially when we are knocking heads.

I’m still grateful, although maybe a little too tired to be completely joyful, about all the time we’ve had to spend together as a family these last few months. Seeing my kids adapt to yet another kind of schooling these last few weeks has not always been easy, but seeing comments or hearing from their teachers that they’re participating, and even excelling in their virtual environment has brought a lot of joy. And, a lot of relief, as well.

I will admit that a lot of my joy these days comes from the glimpses of normalcy that seem to be on the horizon. I couldn’t stop the happy tears from flowing last week when the boys got to march with the band and attend the Friday night football game. It was a little odd watching the band take up almost the entire home side of the bleachers while we watched from a distance on the visitors’ side, but it was certainly memorable, both for the kids and the parents.

Dare I say, they might be having more fun like this, in their T-shirts and khakis, with a bag full of their own snacks? While the band kids are always jamming out in their own ways, the shenanigans seemed to be at an all-time, and very good-natured, high. There was plenty of joy to be found by all.

One other extremely bright spot for me has been watching A take to the field as a member of the high school junior varsity soccer team. It’s a little strange that part of his uniform includes a face mask, and that I find myself digging through his equipment bag to find the elusive voucher that grants me admittance to the game, but it’s all good.

Watching those kids run around, being able to play a sport they love, especially on a cool fall night, where you need to wear a hoodie and bring a blanket to the game, is just about as good as it gets.

And, of course, we can’t forget about G. G has received his latest shipment of chickens, including several rare breeds. You really haven’t seen joy until you’ve seen a 12-year-old boy excited because one of his chickens has five toes. (The standard chicken foot has four toes.) Nicknamed ErNEST Hen-ingway, in honor of Hemingway’s famous polydactyl cats, she has quickly become the barnyard favorite, even making an appearance in G’s first day of school photo.

Now is the point where, if I follow the rules, I should be writing my conclusion paragraph, summing up my evidence, and tying it all back to the original statement. Since my day has been true to form: constant interruptions, breaking up arguments, trouble shooting internet problems, trying to keep the dog from chewing another chair to pieces, and all the other 9,000 things that take up my day that are sometimes less than joyful, I’m not entirely sure what the original premise was, and if I even came close to providing the supporting evidence. I think this is where I get the fifth-grader to provide the peer edit, and it becomes her problem!

Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.