_living each day*

reader's digest

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

this issue's reader's digest is rather interesting.. life's 25 toughest questions.. here's a few:

1) can love really last a lifetime?

absolutely- but only if you chuck the fairy tale of living happily ever after. a team of scientists recently found that romantic love involves chemical changes in the brain that lasts for 12-18 months. after that, you and your partner are on your own. relationships require maintenance. .....

2) can a marriage survive betrayal?

yes. it takes time and work, but experts are pretty unanimous on this one. this scientist estimates that 60% of husbands and 40% of wives will have an affair at some point in their marriages. that's no advertisement for straying- but the news is good for couples hoping to recover from devastating breaches of trust. the offended partner needs to make the choice to forgive- and learn to live with a memory that can't simply be erased. infidelity is never forgotten, but it can gradually fade into the murky background of a strong mature marriage.

3) can a man and a woman ever just be friends?

for a short time perhaps. making the friendship last requires that you find each other at least vaguely repulsive.

and a couple of interesting quotes:

you have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. -- michael jordon

my parents told me, "finish your dinner. people in china and india are starving." i tell my daughters "finish your homework. people in india and china are starving for your job." (hahaha!)

motherhood is built on the age-old conflict of holding tight and letting go at the same time. children pull us with their needs, then push us away. we're drawn to nurture, and repelled by the grinding demands. we're enticed by our careers, yet shut out if we can't commit fully. finally, it occurs to me: maybe this is the way it is supposed to be. opposing forces create strength.

and a joke to end it all:

my friend susan was helping her 5 yr old son review his math while her teenager was in the kitchen making a snack. "you have $7 and 7 friends," susan said. "u give a dollar each to 2 of them but none to the others. what do you have left?" from the next room, she heard her teenager call out, "2 friends."

__pondering* 11:35 PM :)