z o Q I w o I w Z o I Z Z I LETTERSONTHEDECEMBERISSUE I have neverbeenso moved as by the photo forMomentof Grace. . Shoepthe dogtugged atmy ! heartstrings. Hisface ' showsrelief, trust,and gratitude during this peaceful moment. Weall sufferand need support, healing, and kindness. We receive it so rarely, but we knowitwhenwe see it. I hope thisphotowillinspireusto bebettertoeach other. George1. Paterno,Kutztown,Pennsylvania Football Battles On Iworkina blue-collartown,and when the shopguyssawme reading "Breaking Upwith Football,"they accused meofbeingableeding heart!Footballissoingrainedin ourculturethatanyattackon it throws people intoknee-jerk spasmsofreactionaryextrem-ism.Nobodyisthreatening totake awayfootballbutrathertomake thegamemore aboutthe game than bashingpeople.The gruesome football of todayisnot whatIgrew upplaying.Chris Avery,Lansing,Michigan Quotable Tweets A'busSeversPoter What d . This@readersdigest readersdigest.com:]+s a Hipster wei h? AeadersDlgesttL 9 An InstaGram HAHAHA egendaryJokes 9 It's not just football.Peopleshould breakupwithotherfull-contact sportsas well.Iffootballplayers cannotprevent braindamagewith all theprotectiontheywear,certainlywrestlers,boxers,andmixed martialartists,whoparticipate withlittletonoprotection,are alsosusceptibletobraindamage. AnnieLi,Shorel i ne, Washington Lasting Legacy Thankyouforpublishingtheclassic "The Gold& IvoryTablecloth"by Rev. HowardC.Schade. Iremember the storyandhowmuch Ienjoyed readingitwhenitwas frst published.These reprints givea new generationofreadersa glimpse ofwhatthe publicationhas brought toitsreaderssincethe Wallaces startedit intheirhome 90 yearsago. William H. Green,Gainesville, Texas VfW-NVfM#TfMWKeep the Laughs Coming! Idon't knowwhere you findthese funnyandrefreshingstories and jokesthat keepthis74-year-oldman chuckling(andrunningtohiswife withyetanotherfunnybit toshare). Keepdoingwhatyou'redoing,and I'll keepreadingandsharing. HankDomanski,Baldwinsvilie, New York Let's Discuss Depression I,too,haveexperiencedthemany reactions Stephanie Gallmanfaced when shetold people abouther problemwithdepression(Health Digest,"'ButIHula-Hoopin Walmart!"').Afteryearsoffeeling misunderstood,itwasupliftingto readthethoughtsofsomeonewho truly shareswhat Iwent through andisn't afraidtospeakoutabout thistraumatizingdisease. Christine Hoffman,viae-mail Share the Smiles We broke "The Year in Miracles" into shareable bits on our Pinterest page (pinterest.com/readersdigest). Fans loved them! Here, the three most repinned: 10tOl0gl

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, WWlUtSIOmcctcDt0Pt" \0lt1nlO1SJlD1SWal1ng0fWvfor the first time e,er. , Playing Favorites Ihave beendatinganamazingguy for almost twoyears,and I cansay without hesitationthatheis theone Iwant tomarry.Theproblemisthat myparentsseemto be lessthan enthusiasticabout him. As they shower mysiblings' signifcantothers withgiftsandcute Facebookposts, my boyfriend getsnothing. It'sembarrassing that his familywelcomes me with openarms,whenmyfamily can't seemto do thesame forhim. I'm worriedit will be likethis forever,so what can I do to improve this situation beforewe decidetotietheknot? EmbarrassedGirlfriend DearEmbarrassed, Thiscallsforsomehead-to-head confrontation with yourfamily. Ask them,outright,toexplain the discrepancy betweentheir treatmentofyourboyfriendand the others.Givethemachanceto speakupaboutanyredfagsthey senseintherelationship.Besure tolistento whattheyhavetosay. Thentellthemabout yourfeelings forthisman,andbeclearabout yourintentions.Iftheygoon to snub him,well,youwill haveall theinformationyou needtomake adecisionaboutthedirectionof yourlifeifyouchoosetoshareit withthisman.And it maynot include them. send questions about manners, parents, partners, or ofice politics to advice@rd.com. Sending gives us permission to edit and publish. 186 YOUR WORDS OF WISDOM InourDecember issue, we asked you to help Too Nice deal with her bothersome neighbor. Most of you urged caution: It seems creepy because it is creepy. Yourintuition is warning you, so trust that feeling and deal with this pronto. Tell the guy not to come over unless your husband is home. And if you can't do that, tell your husband about this guy and how you've got a creepy feeling about him.TimShoemaker Politely inform him that you feel it is inappropriate for you to be entertaining him while your husband is gone. There's nothing rude about that!Lethimknow that if he wants to spend time with you and your husband together, heis welcome to do so.If he can't accept that, then you don't want to be friends with him anyway.AuntieEmme GIVE YOUR BEST ADVICE Write your answer to this problem at rd.com/ebruary. It seems like every word that comes out of my mother-in-Iaw's mouth is eithera criticismor a complaint directed toward me.My husband says that's just herway of making conversation, but I think otherwise. Howdo I bring this up with her to cfear the air? DistressedDaughter-in-Law readersdigest.com2/13 Wecan'tall be heroes, because somebodyhas tositonthe curband clap as they go by. WillRogers Iwishthewhole worldcouldsee what Isee.Sometimesyouhave to go up really high to understandhow small youreally are. FelixBaumgartner, record-setting Austrian skydiver Thisisagoodsign, having a broken heart.It means wehavetriedfor something. ElizabethGilbert Don't aspiretomake aliving.Aspireto makeadifference. DenzelWashington, inGQ IdecidedIcan'tpay apersonto rewind time,soImay as well getoverit. SerenaWilliams 192 FINISHTHIS SENTENCE LIFEISLIKE ... You can never fully put your finger on the reason why you're suddenl inexplicaI compelle to eXRlore one life as opposed to another. DanielDay-Lewis ... a ten-speedbicycle.Most of us have gears we neveruse.CharlesM.Schulz ... an onion; you peelit off one layer at a time, andsometimes you weep.CarlSandburg ...a greatbig canvas, and you should throw all the paint onit you can.DannyKaye ILLUSTRATIONBYKIRSTENULVE