Nora Ephron's tips

I listened to a book on tape called I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron. Here is one of my favorite sections, called "What I Wish I'd Known." My comments are in red--i mean PINK! People have only one way to be. Buy, don't rent. Never marry a man you wouldn't want to be divorced from. I never would have even thought of that! Don't cover a couch with anything that isn't more or less beige. Don't buy anything that is 100 per cent wool even if it seems to be very soft and not particularly itchy when you try it on in the store. You can't be friends with people who call after 11 p.m. Block everyone on your instant mail. The world's greatest babysitter burns out after two and a half years. You never know. The last four years of psychoanalysis are a waste of money. The plane is not going to crash. Anything you think is wrong with your body at the age of 35 you will be nostalgic for at the age of 45. At the age of 55 you will get a saggy roll just above your waist even if you are painfully thin. This saggy roll just above your waist will be especially visible from the back and will force you to re-evaluate half the clothes in your closet, especially the white shirts. Write everything down. Keep a journal. Take more pictures. I especially like this one. The empty nest is underrated. You can order more than one dessert. This is my kind of girl! You can't own too many black turtleneck sweaters. She goes into great detail in the first part of the book about the old lady wattle. If the shoe doesn't fit in the shoe store, it's never going to fit. When your children are teenagers, it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you. Back up your files. Overinsure everything. Whenever someone says the words, "Our friendship is more important than this," watch out, because it almost never is. There's no point in making piecrust from scratch. I'll disagree with this one. The reason you're waking up in the middle of the night is the second glass of wine. The minute you decide to get divorced, go see a lawyer and file the papers. Overtip. Never let them know. If only one-third of your clothes are mistakes, you're ahead of the game. If friends ask you to be their child's guardian in case they die in a plane crash, you can say no. There are no secrets. Nora Ephron is fabulous and she reminds me of a mentor of mine.