It's like being a gym rat, but you're a theater rat, and then that becomes your fraternity house. That becomes your extended family.
Billy CrystalRead
I never missed a birthday. I never missed a school play. We carpooled. And the greatest compliment I can ever get is not about my career or performance or anything; it's when people say, 'You know, your girls are great.' That's the real thing for me.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the importance of prioritizing family moments over career accomplishments.
In this quote, Billy Crystal expresses his belief that being present for significant family events, such as birthdays and school plays, is more meaningful than any professional achievement. The true measure of success for him is when others acknowledge the positive character of his children, indicating that nurturing family relationships is of utmost importance to him.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a family gathering to emphasize the importance of spending time together.
It's like being a gym rat, but you're a theater rat, and then that becomes your fraternity house. That becomes your extended family.
I can't bear to think of life without Janice. I want to go first because I don't want to miss her, because that would be a pain far worse than any death.
You have to really respect what your kids are doing with their kids and how they're raising them. You can't push your way into areas where you shouldn't be saying anything. You have to always remember they're not your own kids. Play with them, love them, spoil them to death - then hand them back.
In high school, I was the class comedian as opposed to the class clown. The difference is the class clown is the guy who drops his pants at the football game, the class comedian is the guy who talked him into it.
One night, I wrote down all the things I was waiting to do with my little granddaughter, and it became a book, 'I Already Know I Love You.' It was one of those really lovely things in life.
From the first time I saw Sid Caesar be funny I knew that's what I had to do.
The more people have studied different methods of bringing up children the more they have come to the conclusion that what good mothers and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is the best after all.
In my early teens, I acquired a kind of representative status: went on behalf of the family to wakes and funerals and so on. And I would be counted on as an adult contributor when it came to farm work - the hay in the summertime, for example.
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.
You didn't have a choice about the parents you inherited, but you do have a choice about the kind of parent you will be.
…for no matter how lost and soiled and worn-out wandering sons may be, mothers can forgive and forget every thing as they fold them into their fostering arms. Happy the son whose faith in his mother remains unchanged, and who, through all his wanderings, has kept some filial token to repay her brave and tender love.
Mindful parenting is the hardest job on the planet, but it's also one that has the potential for the deepest kinds of satisfactions over the life span, and the greatest feelings of interconnectedness and community and belonging.
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