It's one thing when your child is safe in her bed down the hall. It's quite another when it's time for them to flee the nest. How far do we let them fall before we catch them?

My daughter is beautiful and smart and funny and graceful and witty and brilliant, and for four years, I nodded my head in agreement with every Joe off the street who told me she is exactly like me... when I thought exactly none of those things about myself.

Sometimes when I'm with her, I see traces of her as a toddler -- round and full, with mischief and joy flitting across her features like a sprightly fairy. Other times, I see mature, angular hints of the woman that she will someday become.

My daughter is home from college for the weekend. I see her walking towards me from across the room and for a moment, I am looking at myself when I was a girl of 20.

It took me a long time to shake off my mother's fear. I don't want that for my daughter.

I looked around at other moms at the pre-prom party and realized that probably no other mother was thinking of her daughter in her very special dress the same way I was thinking of Ali.

Underlying my bid for my daughter's emotional well-being was the down-and-dirty truth: I wanted her to look pretty in her school pictures, her cascading hair framing her face, so I could show her off to friends and relatives.

Don't let the reality of your situation or the every-so-often fits of depression stop you from living. Lead a normal life and pursue activities or goals that are both enjoyable and alleviate you from the stress, anger, and confusion that surround your health challenges.

"Oh, yes. Grace," I began, haltingly. "One thing to remember is that you will be at camp, having all of these new experiences. Everything here is just the same as ever. I'll be here in my ordinary life."

Sometimes hostility is just a test. Sometimes anger is really an affirmation. And sometimes, when you learn to read between the lines, hate mail looks a lot like a love letter.