She had thought she would have children who maybe resembled her a little more in their grit and energy. She had thought she would have children that she maybe thought more highly of. How she’d watch her three children flailing as they aimed to find meaning in a life where they didn’t have to work for anything. She felt bad for them, because once you’re born that way, even if you lose everything, the way they just had, you never feel the fire of survival in you. You never truly believe there’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning, even if now there is. Ruth had felt the survival instinct
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