Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done.
Seamus HeaneyRead
In my early teens, I acquired a kind of representative status: went on behalf of the family to wakes and funerals and so on. And I would be counted on as an adult contributor when it came to farm work - the hay in the summertime, for example.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the responsibilities and duties one takes on in adolescence as a member of a family.
Seamus Heaney's quote illustrates the transition from childhood to adulthood by highlighting the roles and expectations placed on him in his early teens. He describes how he became a representative of his family in communal events and took on substantial responsibilities in maintaining the family farm, indicating a blend of maturity and familial obligation that comes with growing up.
In practice
This quote could be used in a family reunion speech to represent the importance of contributing to the family.
Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done.
What I've said before, only half in joke, is that everybody in Ireland is famous. Or, maybe better, say everybody is familiar.
The kinds of truth that art gives us many, many times are small truths. They don't have the resonance of an encyclical from the Pope stating an eternal truth, but they partake of the quality of eternity. There is a sort of timeless delight in them.
If self is a location, so is love: Bearings taken, markings, cardinal points, Options, obstinacies, dug heels, and distance, Here and there and now and then, a stance.
I think that water is immediately interesting. It's just, as an element, it is full of life. It is associated with origin; it is bright - it reflects you.
I suppose you inevitably fall into habits of expression.
I want to be around to see my son grow up and to enjoy my grandkids, which means I need to make my health a priority.
This was the trouble with families. Like invidious doctors, they knew just where it hurt.
I hope that my children will someday be as proud of me as I am of my mom. I am so grateful to be her daughter. I'm so grateful that she is Charlotte's and Aiden's grandmother. She makes me proud every single day.
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.
Growing up in the rural south, my family didn't look like our neighbors, and we didn't have much. There were times that were tough, but we had each other, and we had the opportunity to do anything, to be anything, as long as we were willing to work for it.
In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.
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