1. "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
2. "A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." -- Agatha Christie
3. "Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own." -- Aristotle
4. "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." -- Cardinal Mermillod
5. "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." -- George Washington (1732-1799)
6. "Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character." -- Hosea Ballou
7. "The best academy, a mother's knee." -- James Russell Lowell
8. "Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world." -- Kate Douglas Wiggin
9. "We are not born all at once, but by bits. The body first, and the spirit later; and the birth and growth of the spirit, in those who are attentive to their own inner life, are slow and exceedingly painful. Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the longer pains of our spiritual growth." -- Mary Antin
10. "Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1775-1817)
11. "When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso." -- Pablo Picasso
12. "There never was a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him asleep." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
13. "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
14. "The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes one a mother—which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician." -- Sydney J. Harris
15. "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest." -- Spanish proverb
16. "The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." -- Theodore Hesburgh
17. "A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them." -- Victor Hugo
18. "The only thing a lawyer won't question is the legitimacy of his mother." -- W. C. Fields
19. "A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it's too late to let her know that he sees it." -- W. D. Howells
20. "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." -- William Ross Wallace
You've found a new guy and the two of you have been dating for a few months now. He's handsome, funny, and charming, and yet something about the relationship doesn't feel quite right. You so much want this to work, as it has been some time since you've dated anyone this long with the prospect of a permanent commitment. But you still have some important unanswered questions.
1. Where does he go on the weekends?
You've noticed from the beginning of your dating relationship that your guy doesn't hang around on Saturday or Sunday. In fact, you don't see him too often on Friday nights, either. You have to wonder if he has a family out there somewhere, or some kind of commitment elsewhere that is bound to interfere with yours at some point. In fact, it already is interfering. When you ask him why he can't come around over the weekend, he stutters and stammers, but so far, no good excuses.
2. What about his family?
After five months, you still haven't met his parents, sister, or even his dog. He's given you a dozen reasons why you can't visit his apartment, none of them valid. You would love to meet his family-if he has one, that is. Moreover, it wouldn't be a bad idea to be introduced to his coworkers, neighbors, or friends. But so far, none of that is happening. There was one buddy from college who was passing through town and took the two of you out for dinner, but that was it.
3. Does he really have a job?
Even though he has vaguely mentioned having a job somewhere, he doesn't say much about the work, the company, or his boss. You don't actually know what he does or how much he makes. In fact, he's often broke, which is why the two of you hang out at your place for pizza and television rather than go to the movies or dinner.
4. Will he ever get serious?
This guy takes life pretty easy. He doesn't seem to have any hassles or worries, and he's not particularly interested in the future-with or without you. You've fallen into a fairly predictable and almost boring dating pattern, and you're wondering if you could live this way the rest of your life even if things did get serious.
5. Does he meet your needs?
When you need a shoulder to cry one, he withdraws a little, like he's not very comfortable with emotion. At times when you want to dress up and go out, he's ready to sack out on the sofa for a little snooze. He seldom shows much interest in your job, your family, or your hobbies. So what's to love about him?
If any of these, especially in combinations of two or more, describe your relationship, maybe it's time to move on. Unless you force a confrontation and insist on things changing, chances are they won't. And who wants to force someone to pretend to like you, anyway? It could be time to give up and get going if your Romeo isn't showing much enthusiasm.
