“Then I dried myself in my soft bathrobe, shaved very carefully, put on fresh underwear and a shirt, a perfectly pressed gray suit, shiny shoes, my nicest tie and in this way, drawing on all the best things I had available, I started to feel the courage to move forward. It was a way of fooling myself, of course, but it worked : you can judge a book by its cover.”

“What did you drop?""Nothing. Stand aside, Empress.""So you were hiding."He set his jaw, and I noticed his face was freshly shaved. It made his skin look soft."I've places to be," he growled. "So if you don't step outta my way, I will move your imperial figure myself.”

“You will be leaving, of course.""Or I could help you.""I've had a bit of practice bathing myself and I think I can stumble my way through this.”

“What is going to happen in the course of my day that will be an improvement over lying on something very soft, underneath something very warm, wearing only underwear, doing absolutely nothing, all by myself?”

“It isn't as bad as you think it is. It all works out. Don't worry-I say that to myself every morning. it will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trist in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. ”

“Once my jars were labeled, I felt contentedly thrilled with myself, as if I had pulled off a wonderful trick. People feel this way when they bake bread or have babies, and although they are perfectly entitled to feel that way, in fact, nature does most of the work.”