NPR More Funniest Driveway Moments by National Public Radio

As opposed to when you were the mother of young children? What was it that you wanted to witness, to be there for, for your teenage boys. And you wrote your memoir when you turned 50, and your boys were in their teens, and your older boy was about to go to college. As you point out in your book, most books about juggling parenting and work are aimed at young parents. I don't - can't believe this is true, that I've never actually spoken to you before. The admiration is mutual, and it's a pleasure.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, BYLINE: Terry, thank you. Her father died after fighting cancer for 17 years, and her husband decided he wanted to separate. The year had a few unexpected and upsetting twists. But for her older son, it was the final year she could make good on that promise, and she pledged that she would. When her oldest son was turning 18 and preparing to graduate high school and leave home for college, she thought about all the soccer games, concerts, science fairs, field trips, et cetera, that she'd missed over the years, always telling herself she'd do better next year. Her new memoir is about the choices she's made about her work and home life, including the time she quit NPR so she could spend more time with her children. The nurse said Kelly's son was very sick, and she needed to come right away, which of course, was impossible. She was on a Black Hawk helicopter about to take off when she got a call from her younger son's school nurse. She spent time away from home reporting from around the world, sometimes in war zones, reporting from Iraq while covering a visit by the secretary of defense. The juggling act has been especially complicated for her. Like every working mother, she's had to juggle her work and parenting. My guest, Mary Louise Kelly, is a host of All Things Considered and prior to that, reported on national security for NPR for about two decades.

NPR More Funniest Driveway Moments by National Public Radio