Before novels written by women were relegated to their own 'genre,' I was introduced to Jane Smiley by a dear professor who raised my awareness of what female authors were bringing to the table of contemporary fiction.

A Hallmark card with paragraphs about my beauty written by a stranger is vaguely depressing.

I think something that really shocked me as a nanny were parents who sort of assumed the worst from the get-go. People who didn't accept the benefit of the doubt.

The more Mommy blogs going nuclear over playground etiquette I read and birthday parties of glazed adults munching cupcakes like demoralized zombies I attend, I realize this is what my friends who conceived before me meant by, 'You just won't care.'

Rumor has it: when you marry a Walsh you are set for life. Only one thing can screw it up.

Love unlocks doors and opens windows that weren't even there before.