“living, we cover vast territories; imagine your life drawn on a map - a scribble where you grew up, each bus trip traced between school and home, or a clean line across the sea to a place you flew once. think of the time and things we accumulate, all the while growing more conscious of losing and leaving”

“I am asking you to marry me because I love you,” he said, “because I cannot imagine living my life without you. I want to see your face in the morning, and then at night, and a hundred times in between. I want to grow old with you, I want to laugh with you, and I want to sigh to my friends about how managing you are, all the while secretly knowing I am the luckiest man in town.”“What?” she demanded.He shrugged. “A man’s got to keep up appearances. I’ll be universally detested if everyone realizes how perfect you are.”

“You'll lose your audience and then where will we be? We have future gray-eyed babies to feed, you know.”

“Ye gods! But you're not standing around holding it by the hand all this time. No. [...] [T]he dough takes care of itself. [...] While you cannot speed up the process, you can slow it down at any point by setting the dough in a cooler place [...] then continue where you left off, when you are ready to do so. In other words, you are the boss of that dough. ”

“When it comes to life, we spin our own yarn, and where we end up is really, in fact, where we always intended to be.”

“Am I not allowed to speak in hyperbole?""Only," he said, a bit too smoothly, "if you are talking about me."Ellie's face slid into a smirk. "Oh, Charles," she exclaimed, "I feel as if we have known each other for a million years." Her tone grew more ironic. "I am that weary of your company.”

“There is so much I hope to teach you, little one. I hope that I may do so by example, but I feel the needto put the words topaper as well. It is a quirk of mine, one which I expect you will recognize and find amusing by the timeyou read this letter.Be strong.Be diligent.Be conscientious. There is never anything to be gained by taking the easy road. (Unless, of course, theroad is an easy one to begin with. Roads sometimes are. If that should be the case, do not forge a new,more difficult one. Only martyrs go outlooking for trouble.)Love your siblings. You have two already, and God willing, there will be more. Love them well, for theyare your blood,and when you are unsure, or times are difficult, they will be the ones to stand by your side.Laugh. Laugh out loud, and laugh often. And when circumstances call for silence, turn your laugh into asmile.Don't settle. Know what you want and reach for it. And if you don't know what you want, be patient.The answers willcome to you in time, and you may find that your heart s desire has been right under your nose all thewhile.And remember, always remember that you have a mother and a father who love each other and loveyou.I feel you growing restless. Your father is making strange gasping sounds and will surely lose his temperaltogether if Ido not move from my escritoire to my bed.Welcome to the world, little one. We are all so delighted to make your acquaintance.”