“By loving them for more than their abilities we show our children that they are much more than the sum of their accomplishments.”

“The miracle of children is that we just don’t know how they will change or who they will become.”

“The path of development is a journey of discovery that is clear only in retrospect, and it’s rarely a straight line.”

“Potential is not an endpoint but a capacity to grow and learn.”

“Brenda cared for our bacteria with a love and affection that some people don’t show their flesh-and-blood children. She would sneak in between classes to coo encouragingly at them, cheering on their growth.”

“I guessed that only at the last possible minute did the soul in a determined fashion flee the dying flesh. Who could blame it for its reluctance? We loved our lives more than we ever knew, and at the end felt the bounty of them, as one would say in church, felt even the richness of their missed opportunities, or just understood that they were more than we had realized during the living of them and a lot to give up.”

“I love you more than the heavens love the sun and the moon.”