To know you're going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That's better. That way you can actually be more involved in your life while you're living.

my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" from the book of Isaiah

Taffy. He thinks about taffy. He thinks it would take his teeth out now, but he would eat it anyhow, if it meant eating it with her.

Being unheard is the ground floor of giving up.

When death takes your mother, it steals that word forever.

when he smiles it's as if you'd just told him the first joke on earth.

Tell me about your family," I said. And so she did. I listened intently as my mother went through each branch of the tree. Years later, after the funeral, Maria had asked me questions about the family - who was related to whom - and I struggled. I couldn't remember. A big chunk of our history had been buried with my mother. You should never let your past disappear that way.