Appreciation is the purest,strongest form of love. It is the outward-bound kind of love that asks for nothing and gives everything.

I am an average mother in almost every way, so yes, much to my regret, I do yell at my children.

Raising people is not some lark. It's serious work with serious repercussions. It's air-traffic control. You can't step out for a minute; you can barely pause to scratch your ankle.

I didn't know adults could be changed. I thought they were finished pieces, baked through and kiln dried.

How seriously can I take myself? I'm just one of six billion people, right?

That to fly requires chaotic, sometimes even violent passages--becomes a metaphor for all of life's most meaningful endeavors.

We're never ready for the things that happen. When the big stuff happens, we're always looking in the other direction.