No matter how successful I become as a playwright, my mother would be thrilled to hear me tell her that I'd just lost twenty pounds, gotten married and become a lawyer.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the unconditional love and traditional values that mothers uphold, often prioritizing personal happiness over professional success.
Wendy Wasserstein's quote reflects the deep-seated connection between a child and their mother, emphasizing how, regardless of one's achievements, a mother often values family milestones and personal well-being above career successes. It suggests that maternal pride comes from seeing their children achieve traditional life goals rather than just professional accolades, revealing the critical role family plays in how we perceive success.
In practice
In a heartfelt speech at a graduation ceremony, one might say, 'Remember, success is not just about your career; it's about your family's joy and well-being, just like Wendy Wasserstein expressed.'
The trick. . .is to find the balance between the bright colors of humor and the serious issues of identity, self-loathing, and the possibility for intimacy and love when it seems no longer possible or, sadder yet, no longer necessary.
Being a grownup means assuming responsibility for yourself, for your children, and - here's the big curve - for your parents.
I'm not going to throw my imagination away. I refuse to lie down to expectation. If I can just hold out till I'm thirty, I'll be incredible.
No matter how lonely you get or how many birth announcements you receive, the trick is not to get frightened. There's nothing wrong with being alone.
A family is a place where principles are hammered and honed on the anvil of everyday living.
Sometimes in someone's gestures you can notice how a parent is somehow inhabiting that person without there being any awareness of that. Sometimes you can look at your hand and see your father.
As I entered this world, I would leave behind the nurturing of my family and my home, but in another sense I would take their protection with me. The lessons I had learned, the feelings of groundedness and belonging that have been woven into my character there, would be my companions on the journey.
If we never have headaches through rebuking our children, we shall have plenty of heartaches when they grow up.
I grew up without a father, who was kept a mystery to me. There was a sense of uprootedness, things being one day here and the next day not; a sense anything could happen. Then, all of a sudden, my mother met my stepfather, and her life became happier, and my life changed, my name changed.
Of all my father's teachings, the most enduring was the one about the true measure of a man. That true measure was how well he provided for his children, and it stuck with me as if it were etched in my brain.
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