Our children are extensions of ourselves in ways our parents are not, nor our brothers and sisters, nor our spouses.

It's a mistake to think that we have to be lovely to be loved by human beings or by God

Love isn't a state of perfect caring, it is an active noun like struggle.

My hunch is that if we allow ourselves to give who we really are to the children in our care, we will in some way inspire cartwheels in their hearts.

Love is at the root of all healthy discipline. The desire to be loved is a powerful motivation for children to behave in ways thatgive their parents pleasure rather than displeasure. it may even be our own long-ago fear of losing our parents' love that now sometimes makes us uneasy about setting and maintaining limits. We're afraid we'll lose the love of our children when we don't let them have their way.

One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation.

Human relationships are primary in all of living. When the gusty winds blow and shake our lives, if we know that people care about us, we may bend with the wind ... but we won’t break.