If a man wishes to truly not be written about, he would do well not to write letters to 18-year-old girls, inviting them into his life.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.

No, I said. I didn't remember that. There was so much to remember, sometimes the best thing was to forget.

I have long observed that the act of writing is viewed, by some, as an elite and otherworldly act, all the more so if a person isn't paid for what she writes.

My job is writing. I get paid to do it. When was the last time you heard someone challenge a doctor for making money off of cancer?

It's sad but true that if you focus your attention on housework and meal preparation and diapers, raising children does start to look like drudgery pretty quickly. On the other hand, if you see yourself as nothing less than your child's nurturer, role model, teacher, spiritual guide, and mentor, your days take on a very different cast.

If I told you about all the stories I don't tell, I would be violating the very boundaries I set for myself.