My mother phones daily to ask, "Did you just try to reach me?" When I reply no, she adds, "So, if you're not too busy, call me while I'm still alive," . . . and hangs up.

Making coffee has become the great compromise of the decade. It's the only thing "real" men do that doesn't seem to threaten their masculinity. To women, it's on the same domestic entry level as putting the spring back into the toilet-tissue holder or taking a chicken out of the freezer to thaw.

Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.

For years, my husband and I have advocated separate vacations. But the kids keep finding us.

All of a sudden, I feel very old and very tired. Maybe when I get to California, the smog, brush fires, floods, and earthquakes will cheer me up.

One never realizes how different a husband and wife can be until they begin to pack for a trip.

My idea of 'roughing it' is when you have to have an extension for your electric blanket.