The saddest day in the world will be the one when she stops pretending.

Lately, I have been having nightmares, where I'm cut into so many pieces that there isn't enough of me to be put back together.

Just when you think you've got your life by the reins, that's when it's most likely to run away with you.

The best parenting advice I ever got was from a labor nurse who told me the following: 1. After your baby gets here, the dog will just be a dog. 2. The terrible twos last through age three. 3. Never ask your child an open-ended question, such as "Do you want to go to bed now?" You won't want to hear the answer, believe me. "Do you want me to carry you upstairs, or do you want to walk upstairs to go to bed?" That way, you get the outcome you want and they feel empowered.

What she hadn't realized was that sometimes when your vision was that sharp and true, it could cut you. That only if you'd felt such fullness could you really understand the ache of being empty.

You know how I get angry sometimes? That's because it's the only way I can still feel. And I need to test myself, to make sure I'm really here.

As for his name, well, what attorney wouldn't want to be able put a Judge in a crate every now and then?