Quotes?

My friend Mrs. Nielson (yes, of the Nielson Family who decides what we watch on TV - and thank God she has HBO) posted on her blog about quotes. An article she had read gave her the idea to issue her own challenge. Her favorite phrase is "Life, Love, Laugh".

I love quotes. I collect them, sort of, and have even centered a family Christmas letter around them once. Mostly quotes hit home with me when they have a bit of humor to them.

"The fashion sense of the very young, the very old, and the flu-stricken are uncannily similar." (Quinn Cummings, QC Report)

"There is no reciprocity. Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters." (Unknown)

But, I'd have to say if there is a quote to live my life by I'm a bit stumped. I guess one of the wisest quotes I've ever run across if from William Shakespeare:

"It is a wise father that knows his own child."

In this day and age I think truer words have never been spoken - and that they were spoken in the 16th century speaks volumes about parenting. It's always been obvious. Know your children. Know their interests, their passions, their strengths and weaknesses, their friends, their teachers... and if need be, know things they wouldn't voluntarily share with you. Do I think Columbine could have been avoided if the killers parents had known their children better? Maybe. Do I think parents can always save their children? No. But knowing them well can help you guide them to things and circumstances that will - hopefully - result in their being happier, more secure human beings. And isn't that key?

And, I'm interested in knowing about dragons and ketchup also. Will Doubting Thomas please share?

P.S. Obviously I am back from TX. Chaotic and stressful, need to clear my head. Need to just live my life for a while and get perspective on how to best help my dear friend. Hers is not a situation to be "solved" for her, and certainly cannot be "solved" overnight. Sadly, things were probably not any better when I left than when I got there - just different. She is important to me, and I hope that it all works out for the best. She deserves nothing less.