“As children grow, they gravitate to their fates.”

“But fates are connected in ways we don’t understand.”

“How do people choose their final words? Do they realize their gravity? Are they fated to be wise?”

“One withers, another grows.”

“All parents damage their children. This was their life together. Neglect. Violence. Silence.”

“Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.”

“There is no experience like having children.’ That’s all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend. You cannot do it with a lover. If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then you should have children.”