I think it's odd that we all keep entioning te "ideal" family, when such a thing doesn't even exitst... i know that in class we've said that different things work for different people... but the truth is that nothing is truely *ideal.* No matter what the situation is there will always be some kind of conflict... nothing it perfect... call me a "glass is half empty" kind of a girl, but thats just the way i see it. I mean, some people might say that my family is "ideal," because my parents have been married for almost 25 years (they're anniversary is in july) and they have been able to send both of my brothers and i to college and we all get along... but it isn't perfect. my mom had to go to work to help send us to college, but all that really did was give the government an excuse to give us less aid... my parents ARE still together, but that doesn't mean that they don't get angry with eachother... I guess my point is that things may look perfect, but they never are... Its like the mom says in "American Beauty" "To be successful one must project an image of success."

As far as "The Bean Trees" goes i haven't gotten past chapter two yet, but so far i'm enjoying it. Over the summer i read "The Poisonwood Bible" by Kingsolver and i loved it... it does an excellent job of portraying a family unit that is FAR from perfect... Ok, well... enough from me for now!