QuoteProject
Real mothers don't just listen with humble embarrassment to the elderly lady who offers unsolicited advice in the checkout line when a child is throwing a tantrum. We take the child, dump him in the lady's cart, and say, "Great. Maybe you can do a better job." Real mothers know that it's okay to eat cold pizza for breakfast. Real mothers admit it is easier to fail at this job than to succeed.
Jodi Picoult
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote highlights the challenges of motherhood and the acceptance of imperfection in parenting.

Jodi Picoult's quote emphasizes the realities of being a mother, illustrating that real mothers understand the struggles of raising children and do not take unsolicited advice too seriously. It portrays the humorous yet honest acceptance of the imperfect moments in parenting, such as dealing with tantrums and unconventional meals, indicating that it's okay to be flawed and to know that parenting is challenging.

Themes

MotherhoodParentingImperfectionChallengesRealism

In practice

Example use cases

During a parenting seminar, I shared a quote about the realities of motherhood to connect with other mothers.

More from Jodi Picoult

Normal, in our house, is like a blanket too short for a bed--sometimes it covers you just fine, and other times it leaves you cold and shaking; and worst of all, you never know which of the two it's going to be.
Jodi PicoultRead
Whether it was power they sought, or revenge, or love-well, those were all just different forms of hunger. The bigger the hole inside you, the more desperate you became to fill it.
Jodi PicoultRead
she told me she'd be a phoenix." The image of the mythical creature rising from the ashes glitters in my mind. "They don't really exist." "She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them.
Jodi PicoultRead
for 100,000 (dollars), you [can] flatten a house with a wrecking ball. Imagine how much less it [takes] to destroy something than it [does] to build it in the first place.
Jodi PicoultRead
But if you seek forgiveness, doesn't that automatically mean you cannot be a monster? By definition, doesn't that desperation make you human again?
Jodi PicoultRead
when you [lose someone], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all nerves are still a little raw
Jodi PicoultRead

Similar quotes

Working moms commonly testify that they feel guilty when they are away from their children and guilty when they are not at their jobs. Devoted fathers certainly miss their children deeply, but it does not seem to be with the same gnawing, primal anxiety that often afflicts women.
Camille PagliaRead
The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal.
C. S. LewisRead
I believe in imagination. I did Kramer vs Kramer before I had children. But the mother I would be was already inside me.
Meryl StreepRead
You hear a lot of dialogue on the death of the American family. Families aren't dying. They're merging into big conglomerates.
Erma BombeckRead
There's a constant chatter in our house, whether it's giggling or screaming or crying or banging. I love it. I love it. I love it. I hate it when they're gone. I hate it. Maybe it's nice to be in a hotel room for a day - 'Oh, nice, I can finally read a paper.' But then, by the next day, I miss that cacophony, all that life.
Brad PittRead
Before getting to my mother's house, I would always think of her on the porch or even on the street, sweeping. She had a light way of sweeping, as if removing the dirt were not as important as moving the broom over the ground. Her way of sweeping was symbolic; so airy, so fragile, with a broom she tried to sweep away all the horrors, all the loneliness, all the misery that had accompanied her all her life.
Reinaldo ArenasRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.