"You are a smart man, Ira, but sometimes I think you do not understand women very well." — Nicholas Sparks

A truth emerges in any long marriage, and the truth is this: Our spouses sometimes know us better than we even know ourselves.

[Written on back of photograph of Ruth and Daniel]

"Ruth LevinsonThird grade teacher.She believes in me and I can be anything I want when I grow up.I can even change the world."

"I wish I had the talent to paint the way I feel about you, for my words always feel inadequate. I imagine using red for your passion and pale blue for your kindness; forest green to reflect the depth of your empathy and bright yellow for your unflagging optimism. And still I wonder: can even an artist's palette capture the full range of what you mean to me?"