Thank you, darling, for learning to play chess. It is an absolute necessity for any well organized family. (in a letter to his wife)
Interpretation
Chess symbolizes strategy and cooperation, essential for a well-functioning family.
In this quote, Pushkin expresses gratitude towards his wife for embracing the game of chess, highlighting how it serves as a metaphor for the importance of strategy, teamwork, and organization within a family. By learning chess, the family can foster skills like patience and collaboration, which are vital for maintaining harmony and structure in family life.
In practice
During a family gathering, this quote could be shared to highlight the significance of teamwork.
I loved you; even now I may confess, Some embers of my love their fire retain; But do not let it cause you more distress, I do not want to sadden you again. Hopeless and tongue tied, yet I loved you dearly With pangs the jealous and the timid know; So tenderly I loved you, so sincerely, I pray God grant another love you so.
I loved you: and, it may be, from my soul The former love has never gone away, But let it not recall to you my dole; I wish not sadden you in any way. I loved you silently, without hope, fully, In diffidence, in jealousy, in pain; I loved you so tenderly and truly, As let you else be loved by any man.
I have outlasted all desire, My dreams and I have grown apart; My grief alone is left entire, The gleamings of an empty heart. The storms of ruthless dispensation Have struck my flowery garland numb, I live in lonely desolation And wonder when my end will come. Thus on a naked tree-limb, blasted By tardy winter's whistling chill, A single leaf which has outlasted Its season will be trembling still.
My dreams, my dreams! What has become of their sweetness? What indeed has become of my youth?
I do not like Moscow life. You live here not as you want to live, but as old women want you to.
Thus people--so it seems to me-- Become good friends from sheer ennui.
My father had retained an emotional affection for the ceremonial of his parental home, without allowing it to influence his intellectual freedom
If you have a child, I said, you have a responsibility at least to stay alive.
What lingers from the parent's individual past, unresolved or incomplete, often becomes part of her or his irrational parenting.
She had given birth to me and nursed me and brought me up. She had known me before I knew myself and now she had no say in the matter. Life started out one thing and then suddenly turned a corner and became something else.
Once a month we have 'dessert for dinner' night. I'll make four separate desserts. They'll come home from school and eat as much cake and custard and ice cream as they can physically get in their guts. Because sometimes I think, let them just be children.
I came back to work when my children were two months old. At that early age, they seem to have little awareness of anybody but their Raggedy Ann dolls, so it wasn't a matter of them missing me. I was missing them.
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