Sadness is more or less like a head cold - with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.
There were two things about Mama. One is she always expected the best out of me. And the other is that then no matter what I did, whatever I came home with, she acted like it was the moon I had just hung up in the sky and plugged in all the stars. Like I was that good.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the unconditional support and belief a mother has in her child, celebrating their accomplishments regardless of their size.
In this quote, Barbara Kingsolver conveys the profound influence a mother can have on her child's self-worth and confidence. By expecting the best from her child and celebrating even their smallest achievements as monumental, she fosters a nurturing environment where the child feels valued and capable. This unconditional love and acceptance can empower individuals to reach their full potential, knowing that they have someone who believes in them wholeheartedly.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth at an event, one might say, 'Like Barbara Kingsolver notes about her mother, we must expect the best from our loved ones.'
More from Barbara Kingsolver
All quotes →Children can be your heartache. But that doesn't matter, you have to go on and have them . . . it works out.
I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.
I did it to win love, and to prove myself capable. Not to move mountains. In my opinions, mountains don't move. They only look changed when you look down on them from great height.
Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.
Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.
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Mothers are a biological necessity; fathers are a social invention
Few parents nowadays pay any regard to what their children say to them. The old fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out.
The ideal of womanhood in India is motherhood - that marvellous, unselfish, all - suffering, ever - forgiving mother.
It's not proper for the government to intrude too thoroughly into the domain of the family. It's inappropriate.
Asking me to describe my son is like asking me to hold the ocean in a paper cup