We criticize mothers for closeness. We criticize fathers for distance. How many of us have expected less from our fathers and appreciated what they gave us more? How many of us always let them off the hook?

Most people do not consider dawn to be an attractive experience - unless they are still up.

We want our children to fit in and to stand out. We rarely address the conflict between these goals.

We each have a litany of holiday rituals and everyday habits that we hold on to, and we often greet radical innovation with the enthusiasm of a baby meeting a new sitter. We defend against it and - not always, but often enough - reject it. Slowly we adjust, but only if we have to.

What he labels sexual, she labels harassment.

You can fire your secretary, divorce your spouse, abandon your children. But they remain your co-authors forever.

Our 'mistakes' become our crucial parts, sometimes our best parts, of the lives we have made.