Preparing for the worst is an activity I have taken up since I turned thirty-five, and the worst actually began to happen.

Clothes have special power. I'll always remember the raspberry colored v-necked silk sweater I was wearing on my husband and my first date. If I hadn't been wearing that sweater that night, would any of it have happened?

For me, having it all - if one wants to define it at all - is the magical time when what you want and what you have match up.

Your basic extended family today includes your ex-husband or -wife, your ex's new mate, your new mate, possibly your new mate's ex and any new mate that your new mate's ex has acquired.

As complicated as joint custody is, it allows the delicious contradiction of having children and maintaining the intimacy of life-before-kid s.

Preparing for the worst is an activity I have taken up since I turned thirty-five, and the worst actually began to happen.

In Los Angeles, by the time you're 35, you're older than most of the buildings.