He defined me first, as parents do. Those early characterizations can become the shimmering self-image we embrace or the limited, stifling perception we rail against for a lifetime.

If John Lennon was right that life is what happens when you're making other plans, parenthood is what happens when everything is flipped over and spilling everywhere and you can't find a towel or a sponge or your "inside" voice.

You have to speak your dream out loud.

I envy my dad and his faith. I envy all people who have someone to beseech, who know where they're going, who sleep under the fluffy white comforter of belief.

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?

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