Rosa

“When you don't know what to do for yourself, do something for somebody else.”
― Katherine Center, How to Walk Away

“ON A GOOD DAY WHEN EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL--I’M COMMITTED TO MY WIFE. ON A DAY WHEN THINGS ARE OKAY I’M COMMITTED TO MY MARRIAGE; AND ON DAY WHEN THINGS AREN’T SO GREAT, I SATISFY MYSELF BY BEING COMMITTED TO MY COMMITMENT”
― Daphne de Marneffe, The Rough Patch: Marriage and the Art of Living Together

“I love you because you have made me laugh every day...I love you because you let me be me, and you have from the start. I love you for saying 'please' and 'thank you' and for kissing me good morning and good night. I love you for treating each day together as if it were a gift, not a curse...I love you for building me up and for never tearing me down. for seeing my flaws and forgiving them all. For finding the good in me, especially when I struggle to see it in myself. And for showing...how a woman should be treated, with dignity and kindness and equal respect...I love you for knowing when to take a stand and when to take a knee. And for always holding the door for me. Always...”
― Julie Cantrell, Perennials

“Sometimes I fantasize about getting my hands on my library records. . . my recurring bookworm dream is to peruse my personal library history like it's a historical document.

My bookshelves show me the books I've bought or been given. . . But my library books come into my house and go out again, leaving behind only memories and a jotted line in a journal (if I'm lucky). I long for a list that captures these ephemeral reads - all the books I've borrowed in a lifetime of reading, from last week's armful spanning back to when I was a seven-year-old kid with my first library card. I don't need many details - just the titles and dates would be fine - but oh, how I'd love to see them.

Those records preserve what my memory has not. I remember the highlights of my grade-school checkouts, but much is lost to time. How I'd love to see the complete list of what I chose to read in second grade, or sixth, or tenth.”
― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life