On a sunny fall weekend afternoon, my middle child, Drew, 10, started feeling nostalgic for summer carnivals. So he got to work in our backyard, setting up a ring and ball toss and a place to bob for apples. Every time Drew came up from the water with an apple, his baby brother, Zach, 16 months, would bite it and take it right out of his mouth, as my eldest, Nathaniel, 13, laughed from the sidelines. As a single mom of three boys who are far apart in age, I don’t often see them enjoy the same activities. This particular day exceeded all my expectations.

Story and photograph by Working Mother reader Laura Lutton.