Maybe this year, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives not looking for flaws, but looking for potential.

Forty is ... an age at which people have histories and options. At thirty, they had perhaps less history. At fifty, perhaps fewer options.

women who once aspired to the image of superwoman now worry about becoming superdrudge. Those who wanted to have it all now ask whether they have to do it all.

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

I think most of us become self-critical as soon as we become self-conscious.

We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.

When we describe what the other person is really like, I suppose we often picture what we want. We look through the prism of our need.