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
I have a sister, so I know-that relationship, it's all about fairness: you want your sibling to have exactly what you have-the same amount of toys, the same number of meatballs on your spaghetti, the same share of love. But being a mother is completely different. You want your child to have more than you ever did. You want to build a fire underneath her and watch her soar. It's bigger than words.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contrasts sibling relationships with parent-child relationships, emphasizing a parent's desire for their child's success.
In this quote, Jodi Picoult reflects on the complexities of familial relationships, particularly how the bond between siblings often revolves around equality and fairness, while the bond between a parent and child is driven by a deeper instinct to provide for and support the child's growth and success. A parent typically wants their child to surpass their own achievements, which reveals a selfless love that prioritizes the child's potential and happiness over personal equality.
Themes
FamilySiblingParentingLoveFairnessSuccess
In practice
Example use cases
In a family gathering speech to celebrate a child's graduation.
More from Jodi Picoult
All quotes →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
I can't go back. The past won't go away in this family.
Frank MccourtRead
It's one thing for a father to say, 'Oh, my son is great.' But to have others say it - that's the true reward. Robbie's one of the smartest people I know. He's made such fantastic movies.
Carl ReinerRead
I take a very practical view of raising children. I put a sign in each of their rooms: 'Checkout Time is 18 years.'
Erma BombeckRead
Though my father was Norwegian, he always wrote his diaries in perfect English.
Roald DahlRead
Parenting is an impossible job at any age.
Harrison FordRead
The family is one of nature's masterpieces.
George SantayanaRead