My mother's idea of natural childbirth was giving birth without makeup. She was hyper-positive - the world is a wonderful place, rainbows and unicorns. If you said anything contrary to her, you were basically exiled.
Interpretation
The quote humorously reflects on a mother's overly optimistic view of childbirth and life.
Robin Williams encapsulates his mother's unique perspective on life and childbirth, illustrating her extreme positivity and the lengths to which she would go to maintain that outlook. The humor lies in the contrast between her idealism—exemplified by the notion of having a 'natural childbirth' without makeup—and the often harsh realities of life that she would dismiss, suggesting that negativity was not tolerated in her world.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about parenting to highlight different parenting styles.
It's that idea that you can have one drink - and no you can't. Within a week I was drinking heavily. It was so quick that even I was like, 'Wow.' Because you have that initial warm feeling going, 'Oh, I remember this'. And your body does, too. And your body goes, 'Yeah, so do I'. Then the demon voice comes, 'Yeah, so do I. You know what would be great? You know we bought a little bottle before? A full bottle would be wonderful'.
I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.
Sometimes over things that I did, movies that didn't turn out very well - you go, 'Why did you do that?' But in the end, I can't regret them because I met amazing people. There was always something that was worth it.
I've never been asked to appear on 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!,' so I guess I mustn't be on the professional skids just yet.
The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying, 'Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and yelling, 'You want a piece of me?'
I write on big yellow legal pads - ideas in outline form when I'm doing stand-up and stuff. It's vivid that way. I can't type it into an iPad - I think that would put a filter into the process.
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.
What is a family, after all, except memories? Haphazard and precious as the contents of a catch-all drawer in the kitchen.
The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing something that you're unqualified to do, and then you become qualified while doing it.
Fatherhood is the best thing I ever did. It changes your perspective. You can write a book, you can make a movie, you can paint a painting, but having kids is really the most extraordinary thing I have taken on.
How beautiful it is to learn that Grace isn't fragile, and that in the family of God we can fail and not be a failure.
The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family.
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