Part of growing up was learning not to be quite that honest - learning when it was better to lie, rather than to hurt someone with the truth.

I only just found you, I can't lose you now

Each memory is like a paper flower stowed up a magician's sleeve: invisible one moment and then so substantial and florid the next I cannot imagine how it stayed hidden all this time. And like those paper flowers, once they've been let loose in the world, the memories are impossible to tuck away again.

Having a fantasy come true doesn't always mean it will be permanent.

Like the teens I worked with, I understood the need for miracles--they kept reality from paralyzing you

I think there are crossroads in our lives when we make grand, sweeping decisions without even realizing it.

There are all sorts of experiences we can't really put a name to...The birth of a child, for one. Or the death of a parent. Falling in love. Words are like nets--we hope they'll cover what we mean, but we know they can't possibly hold that much joy, grief, or wonder. Finding God is like that, too. If it's happened to you, you know what it feels like. But try to describe it to someone else--and language only takes you so far.