In Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year," she expresses her emotional journey through motherhood with vivid imagery. She reflects on her tears, describing them as a gentle summer rain that serves to nourish her rather than deplete her strength. This metaphor highlights how her crying is a natural and refreshing response to her experiences, suggesting a deeper emotional resilience beneath her vulnerability.

Alongside her tears, Lamott also grapples with intense feelings of rage, illustrating the complexities of her emotions as a new mother. She passionately describes a desire to wreak havoc on her surroundings, using the metaphor of a crowbar to convey her frustration and overwhelm. This duality of sorrow and anger captures the chaotic yet profoundly transformative nature of parenting, revealing the raw truths of balancing joy and difficulty during her son's formative year.