Whenever I was upset by something in the papers, [Jack] always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer.
Jackie KennedyRead
I'll be a wife and mother first, then First Lady.
Interpretation
Prioritizing family roles over public identity.
Jackie Kennedy's quote emphasizes the significance she places on her roles as a wife and mother, suggesting that personal and familial responsibilities take precedence over her public role as First Lady. It reflects the belief that one's personal life and family duties are fundamental to one's identity, even when in a position of public prominence.
In practice
During a speech about family values, this quote can emphasize the importance of prioritizing family roles.
Whenever I was upset by something in the papers, [Jack] always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer.
Can anyone understand how it is to have lived in the White House and then, suddenly, to be living alone as the President's widow?
I think my biggest achievement is that, after going through a rather difficult time, I consider myself comparatively sane.
The only routine with me is no routine at all.
Even though people may be well known they still hold in their hearts the emotions of a simple person for the moments that are the most important of those we know on earth - birth, marriage, death.
Even though people may be well known, they hold in their hearts the emotions of a simple person for the moments that are the most important of those we know on earth: birth, marriage and death.
The traditional family table is round. No corners. No sides. No head. No tail. Everything is smooth. The food is in the center, and each family member reaches over the same distance. Someone you love is next to you on each side, and no one is last or at the end. The person farthest away from you is also the person facing you.
To nourish children and raise them against odds is in any time, any place, more valuable than to fix bolts in cars or design nuclear weapons.
There was always music in our home. My mom and my dad loved music. I remember when we were kids we would have these great parties at the house with congas and bongos and African drums, and it was amazing. It wasn't until years later that I found out that they were actually Black Panther meetings.
Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.
Nothing is so much needed as a secure family life for a people seeking to rise out of poverty and backwardness.
Twenty years ago, I wrote a book called 'It Takes a Village.' And a lot of people looked at the title and asked, 'What the heck do you mean by that?' This is what I mean. None of us can raise a family, build a business, heal a community or lift a country totally alone.
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