Having A Baby Is Painful In Order

I Know A Lot About Women And Their Suffering, But I Still Know Almost Nothing About Men.

If It Is Perfectly Acceptable For A Widow To Disfigure Herself Or Commit Suicide To Save Face For Her Husband's Family, Why Should A Mother Not Be Moved To Extreme Action By The Loss Of A Child Or Children? We Are Their Caretakers. We Love Them. We Nurse Them When They Are Sick. . . But No Woman Should Live Longer Than Her Children. It Is Against The Law Of Nature. If She Does, Why Wouldn't She Wish To Leap From A Cliff, Hang From A Branch, Or Swallow Lye?

It's Funny How In That Moment I See Things Clearly. Am I Beaten Down? Yes. Have I Allowed Myself To Become A Victim? Somewhat. Am I Afraid? Always. Does Some Part Of Me Still Long To Fly Away From This Place? Absolutely. But I Can't Leave. Sam And I Have Built A Life For Joy. It Isn't Perfect, But It's A Life. My Family's Happiness Means More To Me That Starting Over Again. Page 210

Maybe We're All Like That With Our Mothers. They Seem Ordinary Until One Day They're Extraordinary.

I Am Old Enough To Know Only Too Well My Good And Bad Qualities, Which Were Often One In The Same.