The same fire that hardens the egg will melt the butter; and much depends on the personality type, whether you customarily rise to a challenge or whether you sink. For as long as I can remember, I have been a sinker. One challenge, and I drop like a rock.

You're not supposed to cuss when you're an old lady, and just when there's so much more to cuss about.

I didn't learn for years that you generally find your Self after you quit looking for it.

Peas went with carrots as infallibly as ham went with eggs. For years I thought carrots and peas grew on the same vine.

When you're little, time stretches obligingly, and vacation is forever.

It isn't surprising that many children consider their parents to be a little dim, and that they sometimes try to update them. The fact that they don't usually try too hard is just as well; a thoroughly updated parent is an unappetizing sight.

Kitchens were different then, too - not only what came out of them, but their smells and sounds. A hot pie cooling smells different from a frozen pie thawing.