“Maybe age is kinder to us than we think. With my bad eyes, I can't see how bad I look, and with my rotten memory, I have a good excuse for getting out of a lot of stuff.”

“We've got a generation now who were born with semiequality. They don't know how it was before, so they think, this isn't too bad. We're working. We have our attache' cases and our three piece suits. I get very disgusted with the younger generation of women. We had a torch to pass, and they are just sitting there. They don't realize it can be taken away. Things are going to have to get worse before they join in fighting the battle.”

“...I remember thinking how often we look, but never see...we listen, but never hear...we exist, but never feel. We take our relationships for granted. A house is only a place. It has no life of its own. It needs human voices, activity and laughter to come alive.”

“If I had my life to live over...Someone asked me the other day if I had my life to live over would I change anything.My answer was no, but then I thought about it and changed my mind.If I had my life to live over again I would have waxed less and listened more.Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.I would have eaten popcorn in the "good" living room and worried less about the dirt when you lit the fireplace.I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.I would have burnt the pink candle that was sculptured like a rose before it melted while being stored.I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains.I would have cried and laughed less while watching television ... and more while watching real life.I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband which I took for granted.I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream.I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the Earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.I would never have bought ANYTHING just because it was practical/wouldn't show soil/ guaranteed to last a lifetime.When my child kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now, go get washed up for dinner."There would have been more I love yous ... more I'm sorrys ... more I'm listenings ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it ... look at it and really see it ... try it on ... live it ... exhaust it ... and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it.”

“Throughout the years I have set up my own rules about eating food: Never eat anything you can't pronounce. Beware of food that is described as, "Some Americans say it tastes like chicken.”

“I love my mother for all the times she said absolutely nothing.... Thinking back on it all, it must have been the most difficult part of mothering she ever had to do: knowing the outcome, yet feeling she had no right to keep me from charting my own path. I thank her for all her virtues, but mostly for never once having said, "I told you so.”

“When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out.”