Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can't even describe, aren't even aware of.
Ellen GoodmanRead
Parents remain our touchstones, fellow travelers, even after death. They are both missing and present.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Parents have a lasting influence on our lives, even after they pass away.
This quote highlights the enduring impact that parents have on their children, suggesting that their guidance and love continue to shape our lives even in their absence. It reflects the complex emotions of loss, presence, and the connection that persists beyond death, emphasizing that our parents remain integral to our identity and journey through life.
Themes
ParentsLossMemoryLoveFamily
In practice
Example use cases
During a memorial service, this quote can be shared to express the lasting influence of the departed.
More from Ellen Goodman
All quotes →This packrat has learned that what the next generation will value most is not what we owned, but the evidence of who we were and the tales of how we loved. In the end, it's the family stories that are worth the storage.
Ellen GoodmanRead
The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh our fears.
Ellen GoodmanRead
What do I want to take home from my summer vacation? Time. The wonderful luxury of being at rest. The days when you shut down the mental machinery that keeps life on track and let life simply wander. The days when you stop planning, analyzing, thinking and just are. Summer is my period of grace.
Ellen GoodmanRead
My father used to say that if a man fools you once, he's a jerk. If he fools you twice, you're a jerk. Only he didn't use the word "jerk."
Ellen GoodmanRead
There's a trick to the Graceful Exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, a relationship is over - and to let go. It means leaving what's over without denying its validity or its past importance in our lives.
Ellen GoodmanRead
Similar quotes
I'm most proud of the longevity of my marriage, my kids, and my grandchildren. If you don't have that, you really don't have very much.
Bob NewhartRead
The greatest gift a parent can give a child is unconditional love. As a child wanders and strays, finding his bearings, he needs a sense of absolute love from a parent. There's nothing wrong with tough love, as long as the love is unconditional.
George W. BushRead
I have very supportive parents who said, 'Go and do what you want to do. Home is always here for you, and if you don't like it out there, come back. You can always do something different.' So when you have an option like that, you are able to choose roles or choose the things you want to be in.
Michelle YeohRead
Every woman's path is difficult, and many mothers were as equipped to raise children as wire monkey mothers. I say that without judgment: It is, sadly, true. An unhealthy mother's love is withering.
Anne LamottRead
Raising me as a single parent, my mother held many jobs. Most of them had to do with the betterment and the advancement of our community and society at large. I grew up seeing her active in ministries at our church, with the homeless, as a social worker, with elderly, with youth, as a children's rights organizer with the Urban League of Chicago.
Ayanna PressleyRead
My family’s said to me from the beginning, ‘People are always going to tell you to pick what you want to be when you grow up. You take that and throw it out the window, that’s garbage. People are complicated and we love many things and we’re passionate about many things. You can be a human rights activist and also be doing these comedy plays in your community and that’s OK. All those things are a part of who you are and you can love them equally.
Hannah SimoneRead