My closest relationships in life are with people I am not biologically related to.

It was what sealed our love for the cultures of my children's homelands. But remember to celebrate your own heritage, too. This is what makes our lives so rich and so fun.

Very few countries operate at the frenetic pace America does.

A person shows signs of clutching on too fast, of being needy, of not hearing the word "no," of jealousy, of guarding you and your freedom. But the signs can be so small they skitter right past you. Sometimes they dance past, looking satiny, something you should applaud. Someone's jealousy can make you feel good. Special. But it's not even about you. It's about a hand that is already gripping. It's about their need, circling around your throat

I've heard that people stand in bad situations because a relationship like that gets turned up by degrees. It is said that a frog will jump out of a pot of boiling water. Place him in a pot and turn it up a little at a time, and he will stay until he is boiled to death. Us frogs understand this.

Too often in my life, love has been defined as "humiliation with occasional roses".