For two hours I'd felt myself stretching tighter and tighter, like a rubber band pulled to the point of snapping. And now, I could feel the smaller, weaker part of myself beginning to fray, tiny bits giving way before the big break.

The only thing I can't stand more than seeing something done wrong is seeing it done slowly.

Because maybe, the best of times were yet to come. You never knew.

You can't just plan a moment when things get back on track, just as you can't plan the moment you lose your way in the first place.

Wake up, Caitlin, Mr. Lensing had said. But what he didn't under­stand was that this dreamland was preferable, walking through this life half-sleeping, everything at arm's length or farther away.

When you have a kid, you sign on for the whole package: good, bad, everything in between. you can't just dip in and out, picking and choosing the parts you want and quitting when it's not perfect.

We can all be beautiful girls.