Separating is not divorcing. Please keep that in mind. It is, instead, the second step in seeing if there's a better way to manage your family.

It's okay to forgive yourself immediately and for good.

Unfortunately, I think the expectation is that birthday girls don't pay.

It's probably good for your body and brain to get moving occasionally.

I think a person who arranges the event and orders the food also picks up the check - even the birthday person, even when people at the table insist on paying for the birthday person.

It takes awareness that it's not only not a bad thing to let others do things their own way, it is in fact an improvement. It makes life richer and more interesting.

You can't make someone agree with you, not even when you're 100 percent sure you're right.