Sadness is more or less like a head cold - with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.
Barbara KingsolverRead
It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Watching children grow can be painful, but not witnessing their growth is even more heartbreaking.
This quote reflects the bittersweet nature of parenting and family life. It expresses the pain parents feel as they watch their children grow and change, acknowledging that although it can be difficult to let go, the alternative of not seeing them grow up at all is far more tragic. It emphasizes the importance of cherishing every moment, despite the challenges that come with seeing loved ones grow and evolve.
Themes
ParentingGrowthLoveFamilyBittersweet
In practice
Example use cases
In a heartfelt speech at a family gathering, a parent might use this quote to express their feelings about their child's milestones.
More from Barbara Kingsolver
All quotes βChildren can be your heartache. But that doesn't matter, you have to go on and have them . . . it works out.
Barbara KingsolverRead
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.
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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.
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Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.
Barbara KingsolverRead
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.
Barbara KingsolverRead
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