At my age, you not only have bittersweet memories, you make bittersweet plans.

The hardest thing to accept as a parent is that you cannot apply the bandage before the bruise.

You spend the first two-thirds of your life asking to be left alone and the last third not having to ask.

The thing about a friendly smile is not just that it makes people like you but that it makes them like themselves.

Every day I go forth to seek my identity, feeling greatly blessed by the things I don't find it in.

There is a time early in life when there seem to be countless reasons for happiness, and then you discover your mom is making them up.

Even at times when I don't care, I know exactly what I would care about if I did.