I've been listening to your program fairly regularly for the last couple of years as I drive to pick up my grandchildren from school.

I agree with many of your outlooks on life, but particularly those pertaining to children and marriage. My husband and I married a month after high school graduation. (Only 1 of our 4 parents graduated from high school and his parents divorced when he was 12.) We became parents at ages 18 and 21. We lived within our meager means early on and without financial support of the government or our parents who felt if we were old enough to be married, we were old enough to take care of ourselves. We started college part-time when we were 20, alternating our schedules so that we needed as little child-care as possible.

Fast forward 38 years and we find ourselves with a fabulous life. Among our family of 4 and our two in-law children, there are 2 MD's and 2 MBA's, 1 Ph.d, and 1 M.ed (me). We also have 5 'perfect' grandchildren who are the light of our lives.

Some of the secrets to our success?

Delayed gratification for consumer goods, a commitment to making our home the best place we've been all day, home-cooked dinner together nearly every night, and a rule that whoever cares the most gets to decide and whoever likes it the most gets to eat the last piece.

I've recently read a couple of things that resonate strongly with me: The grass is not always greener on the other side, but it's greener where it's watered (paraphrased from Nicholas Sparks) and when you are parents and divorce, you are asking your children to adjust when you yourself have not been able to (Rev. Rick Sams).

I realize that my husband and I have bucked many statistics, but I think it's important for people to know that if we could do it, they can do it too.

T.