I knew that it was harder to unite two lives than I had imagined growing up. I knew that relationships could be fragile.

I think it's important how I come across to my students. I want them to see how professional women dress.

I have visited classrooms near military bases to learn more about what schools were doing to support their military kids. I met with teachers overseas to learn about the particular needs they face thousands of miles from America. And I listened to my own granddaughter, who dealt with her father's yearlong deployment to Iraq.

I've always believed you've got to steal the joyful moments when you can.

My daughter loves to do art stuff. As a father, I like to play with her. We break out the big pads of paper and the glitter and all the stuff. She likes to do what she likes to do. I want to do something, too. So I've just started using her same materials - a lot of crayons, a lot of sparkle, charcoal, pencils, markers and glue.

Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves.

How can you not have preconceived notions and expectations of who Kelsey Grammer is gonna be? He's been in my living room since my TV was on. And he exceeded them all, somehow. He's such a beautiful and open-hearted collaborator and mentor and such a great family man. I was just lucky to get to work with him and learn from him.

For many of us, owning a home signaled a passage into adulthood that coincided with the start of a career and family.