She'd be one of those parents who left a kid behind at a rest stop, driving for miles before she noticed. We'd hear about her on the evening news.

Look right at it. Know you can." Dad said. "Look right at that fear. Fear is the biggest bullshitter.

Sometimes you think you've found love, when it's really just one of those objects that are shiny in a certain light--a trophy, say, or a ring, or a diamond, even. Glass shards, maybe. You've got to be careful, you do. The shine can blind you. The edges can cut you in way you never imagined. It is up to you to allow that or not.

I began to learn the importance of lifting things up and looking underneath.

I vow... "to not let the back & forth of forgiveness interrupt the steadiness of love.

Maybe some people just had trouble with forever.

Maybe we all just want to feel special, even for a little while, to be fooled for a bit into feeling something besides the truth of our own ordinariness.