There are no grown-ups....Everyone is winging it, some just do it more confidently.

The French believe that kids feel confident when they're able to do things for themselves, and do those things well. After children have learned to talk, adults don't praise them for saying just anything. They praise them for saying interesting things, and for speaking well.

If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. You no longer leave conversations wondering what just happened. Other people's minds and motives are finally revealed.

The French aren't perfect, but they have some parenting secrets that really do work.

There are no grown-ups. We suspect this when we are younger, but can confirm it only once we are the ones writing books and attending parent-teacher conferences. Everyone is winging it, some just do it more confidently.

By your 40s, you don't want to be with the cool people; you want to be with your people.

To grow up without risk is to risk not growing up.