A mother's hardest to forgive. Life is the fruit she longs to hand you Ripe on a plate. And while you live, Relentlessly she understands you.

When blithe to argument I come, Though armed with facts, and merry, May Providence protect me from The fool as adversary, Whose mind to him a kingdom is Where reason lacks dominion, Who calls conviction prejudice And prejudice opinion.

The thing to remember about fathers is, they're men. A girl has to keep it in mind: They are dragon seekers, bent on improbable rescues. Scratch any father, you find someone chock - full of qualms and romantic terrors, believing change is a threat - like your first shoes with heels on, like your first bicycle I took such months to get.

Tomorrow will come and today will pass, / But the hearts of the young are brittle as glass.

Meek-eyed parents hasten down the ramps To greet their offspring, terrible from camps.

Getting along with men isn't what's truly important. The vital knowledge is how to get along with one man.

Praise is warming and desirable. But it is an earned thing. It has to be deserved, like a hug from a child.