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We can't understand when we're pregnant, or when our siblings are expecting, how profound it is to have a shared history with a younger generation: bl...more

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Nothing can be delicious when you are holding your breath.

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[S]he believed that the Buddhists were right–that if you want, you will suffer; if you love, you will grieve. (68)

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Hope is not about proving anything. It's about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at u...more

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When we did art with the kids, the demons would lie down.

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But you are not your bank account, or your ambition. You're not the cold clay lump you leave behind when you die. You're not your collection of walkin...more

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Kids are hard -they drive you crazy and break your heart- whereas grandchildren make you feel great about life, and yourself, and your ability to love...more

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It is a violation of trust to use your kids as caulking for the cracks in you.

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You've got to learn to let go and let your children fall, and fail. If you try to protect them from hurt, and always rush to their side with Band-Aids...more

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It's so awful, attacking your child. It's the worse thing I know, to shout loudly at this 50 lb. being with his huge trusting brown eyes. It's like bi...more

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Every Sunday I nudge Sam in her direction, and he walks to where she is sitting and hugs her. She smells him behind the ears, where he most smells lik...more

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This is the most profound spiritual truth I know: that even when we're most sure that love can't conquer all, it seems to anyway. It goes down into th...more

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...most of the time, all you have is the moment, and the imperfect love of the people around you.

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I stared at the little white agates in my hand, delicate as moon drops. The mystery of God's love as I understand it is that God loves the man who was...more

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There are really places in your heart that you don't know exist until you love a child.