Moms Quotes

“Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Have Space Suit—Will Travel

“Baby," she says in a harsh whisper, "in this world, lots of people will try to grind you down. They need you to be small so they can be big. You let them think whatever they want, but you make sure you get yours. You get yours.”
― Holly Black, Red Glove

“You are evidence of your mother's strength, especially if you are a rebellious knucklehead and regardless she has always maintained her sanity.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“When did they stop putting toys in cereal boxes? When I was little, I remember wandering the cereal aisle (which surely is as American a phenomenon as fireworks on the Fourth of July) and picking my breakfast food based on what the reward was: a Frisbee with the Trix rabbit's face emblazoned on the front. Holographic stickers with the Lucky Charms leprechaun. A mystery decoder wheel. I could suffer through raisin bran for a month if it meant I got a magic ring at the end.

I cannot admit this out loud. In the first place, we are expected to be supermoms these days, instead of admitting that we have flaws. It is tempting to believe that all mothers wake up feeling fresh every morning, never raise their voices, only cook with organic food, and are equally at ease with the CEO and the PTA.

Here's a secret: those mothers don't exist. Most of us-even if we'd never confess-are suffering through the raisin bran in the hopes of a glimpse of that magic ring.

I look very good on paper. I have a family, and I write a newspaper column. In real life, I have to pick superglue out of the carpet, rarely remember to defrost for dinner, and plan to have BECAUSE I SAID SO engraved on my tombstone.

Real mothers wonder why experts who write for Parents and Good Housekeeping-and, dare I say it, the Burlington Free Press-seem to have their acts together all the time when they themselves can barely keep their heads above the stormy seas of parenthood.

Real mothers don't just listen with humble embarrassment to the elderly lady who offers unsolicited advice in the checkout line when a child is throwing a tantrum. We take the child, dump him in the lady's car, and say, "Great. Maybe YOU can do a better job."

Real mothers know that it's okay to eat cold pizza for breakfast.

Real mothers admit it is easier to fail at this job than to succeed.

If parenting is the box of raisin bran, then real mothers know the ratio of flakes to fun is severely imbalanced. For every moment that your child confides in you, or tells you he loves you, or does something unprompted to protect his brother that you happen to witness, there are many more moments of chaos, error, and self-doubt.

Real mothers may not speak the heresy, but they sometimes secretly wish they'd chosen something for breakfast other than this endless cereal.

Real mothers worry that other mothers will find that magic ring, whereas they'll be looking and looking for ages.

Rest easy, real mothers. The very fact that you worry about being a good mom means that you already are one.”
― Jodi Picoult, House Rules

“So many people think that they are not gifted because they don’t have an obvious talent that people can recognize because it doesn’t fall under the creative arts category—writing, dancing, music, acting, art or singing. Sadly, they let their real talents go undeveloped, while they chase after fame. I am grateful for the people with obscure unremarked talents because they make our lives easier---inventors, organizers, planners, peacemakers, communicators, activists, scientists, and so forth. However, there is one gift that trumps all other talents—being an excellent parent. If you can successfully raise a child in this day in age to have integrity then you have left a legacy that future generations will benefit from.”
― Shannon L. Alder

“No, I am never setting foot in this house again it scares me and makes me sad and I wish you could be a mom whose eyes worked but I don't think you can. ”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls

“Some of us were brought into this troubled world primarily or only to increase our fathers’ chances of not being left by our mothers, or vice versa.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana, The Use and Misuse of Children

“Even though nobody knew that you were in my life, you were the person who brought a raft at every rapid current and helped me cross that water safely. I was happy that you were there. I came to tell you I was able to travel through my life because I could come to you when I was anxious, not when I was happy.”
― Kyung-Sook Shin, Please Look After Mom

“... there had been the two little boys. Now they were gone, too. They loved her and called her and sent her e-mails and would still snuggle up to her to be petted when they were in the mood, but they were men, and though they would always be at the center of her life, she was no longer at the center of theirs.”
― Cathleen Schine, The Three Weissmanns of Westport

“My mom is cool and my mom will treat you right.”
― Sam Hyde

“Nothing is enough that doesn't come with peace of mind. Nothing is enough that doesn't come with love.”
― Tracy Deebs, Tempest Rising

“I used to be embarrassed by my mom, but now I know what she is—she’s a hero.”
― Carrie Jones, After Obsession

“Then I looked right at Mama, for the first time in what seemed like forever, and she wasn't looking at me, but into me. She was pulling me to her with her eyes, like she used to do. All of a sudden I could see the light that was Mama's shining out of her eyes. I couldn't help smiling at it.
'Be careful,' my heart warned me.
But I was having a hard time remembering that there as anything to be careful about. Because if I just looked at Mama's eyes...I could tell that the part of her I thought had gone away forever was still there and glowing, only from deep down inside her.”
― Katherine Hannigan, Ida B. . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World

“Darla shook her head, a small smirk on her lips. “You’re such a mom,” she told Katherine.
Katherine stared at her, puzzled. “You’re a mom, too,” she said softly.
“No, I gave birth. That doesn’t make me a mom. Not like you.”
A look passed between the two women like none they had ever shared before. For a split second, Katherine felt a slight connection. “Well, you rest. I’ll check on you later.” She turned and left the room, a funny, unexplainable feeling inside her.”
― Deanna Lynn Sletten, Widow, Virgin, Whore

“Moms are the ones
Who make sure of a lot of things
Like that their kids
Wear nice clothes,
Comb their hair,
Brush their teeth.
And moms teach their kids
How to fold laundry
So their cloths aren't wrinkled,
How to make scrambled eggs
Without turning them brown,
How to make a girl feel like a girl
Without a mom to make her
feel that way?”
― Nancy J. Cavanaugh

“This is why we can't have nice things...”
― Madge Madigan, When Life Gives You Lemons... At Least You Won't Get Scurvy!

“When you fell sick as a kid, your mom wouldn’t sleep the entire night. You would even catch her secretly crying. As an adult, living away from home, you find yourself standing alone in your kitchen at 1 a.m., trying to find a medicine that would make your fever disappear. Your roommate is asleep and you don’t want to wake them up. You want to call your mom but realize that while it will give you peace, it’ll give her anxiety.
You realize you can hang out with people all day long only to stand in the middle of your kitchen at night all alone, trying to find medicines. You haven’t had dinner, but nobody cares. You haven’t slept properly in days, but nobody has noticed. You’ve been perpetually anxious, but nobody has been able to dissect the sadness in your eyes. You go to the doctor’s clinic alone for the first time and a tear drops from your eyes. This is your rendezvous with loneliness.
You’re away from home, constantly trying to feel at home. You realize there are people who love you, but nobody in the world loves you to the point where your illness makes their heart heavy. Nobody feels sick in the gut and has tears in their eyes when you’re unwell. You wonder if it’s even possible to find someone like that—someone who is terrified of seeing you in pain.
You check your phone and realize you have ten missed calls from Mom, your home. You call back, and she picks up and says, ‘Is everything okay? I had a bad dream last night.’ You respond by saying, ‘Yes, Mom, I’m all right’.
It’s funny how adulting makes you yearn for things you kept taking for granted all your life.”
― Rithvik Singh, Thank You for Leaving

“These feelings don't just go away. They linger. Hover. They are with me always. Even at my most functioning...they are there, watching me. These emotions are my roommates now, bunking up beside me at night. They do not pay any rent...they are determined to ruin me, and yet I can never fully evict them from my brain.

I have tried -- really tried -- to chip away at my grief...But lately, I've just given up. I'm finally giving it permission to breathe and exist...

Most days now, they lie dormant in me. Sometimes it gets so quiet in my brain I think they've finally packed up and left. But every year as the calendar rounds the corner to March and the anniversary of her death approaches, anger bubbles again...I rage over the smallest of things, screaming behind the steering wheel of my car when another driver forgets to use their blinker. At first I'm perplexed, and then I remember: it's here again. And I am still mad. So mad. I can starve it, avoid it, rationalize it, manage it, talk about it in therapy, and eat it up in neat little points value. No matter how much weight I lose, I will never lose this one simple truth: I want my mom. I am so f***ing mad that she's gone. And that feeling will never, ever die.”
― Kate Spencer, The Dead Moms Club: A Memoir about Death, Grief, and Surviving the Mother of All Losses

“Most days now, [the feelings] lie dormant in me. Sometimes it gets so quiet in my brain I think they've finally packed up and left. But every year as the calendar rounds the corner to March and the anniversary of her death approaches, anger bubbles again...I rage over the smallest of things, screaming behind the steering wheel of my car when another driver forgets to use their blinker. At first I'm perplexed, and then I remember: it's here again. And I am still mad.”
― Kate Spencer, The Dead Moms Club: A Memoir about Death, Grief, and Surviving the Mother of All Losses

“Mama said life made people hard, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was moms that made the difference. My mom had kept the hardness away and now that she was gone-there was nothing to stop its coming.

Hope in the Hollar”
― Lisa Lewis Tyre

“Mommies are ineffable, their prayers the driving force beneath our wings; their discipline, the magnet for honor—irreplaceable love!”
― Henrietta Newton Martin, Author- The Greatest of All Romances, Your Potters Call.

“Our daughter is the earth in space between moon and sun. We merge as one heart between her lungs and pump radiance to whoever she becomes.”
― Curtis Tyrone Jones

“The empty nest can be one of the toughest parts of parenting. It’s a holy, hard giving-back, a sacred release of our children into God’s care and their next chapter. But you, too, have a new chapter, and you can find peace as you transition from mom to empty nest mom and rediscover that mom is not your only name.
There is a second act, a future with your name on it, different from your children’s but filled with hope and surprises you cannot begin to imagine…if you plan for it, believe in it, and, with the Lord’s help, walk fearlessly into it.

You are cordially invited to the After Party…because Mom is not your only name.”
― Kate Battistelli, The After Party of the Empty Nest: Mom is Not Your Only Name

“What does this mean for us as fathers? It looks like having a devoted relationship with Jesus, being fathers after the Father’s heart. Our character will begin to be shaped and molded into that of Christ, and we will start to take on the template of the greatest Father. Imagine looking a bit like God in your parenting.”
― Steven Kolberg, Reviving Fatherhood: Guiding Every Dad from First Steps to Lasting Legacy

“Interestingly, the most important piece of advice I would give to any dad is also the most basic. Here it is: your kids are not yours. Your children are God’s children.”
― Steven Kolberg, Reviving Fatherhood: Guiding Every Dad from First Steps to Lasting Legacy

“God created human beings and filled them with souls. They come into the earth in the form of babies that are in need of nurturing, love, and care. As time goes on, teaching and training become imperative for their survival in this world. But that is not all children are.”
― Steven Kolberg, Reviving Fatherhood: Guiding Every Dad from First Steps to Lasting Legacy

“If we will not do the little things like change a diaper, swaddle our young one, or sit down and play with them, why would we think we can be intentional with the large things in their life? Here is a little bit of wisdom. In order to have the relationship for those hard midnight kitchen-counter conversations, there has to be trust. Trust is developed over time. Changing diapers and doing the little things through the infant and toddler years develops in your child a sense of trust. These are little things to you, but very big things to them. As time goes on, these little frequent tasks will turn into larger and not-as-often ones. Are we willing to be prepared?”
― Steven Kolberg, Reviving Fatherhood: Guiding Every Dad from First Steps to Lasting Legacy

“When you feel your sparkle start to face, remember, love will always light the way.”
― Amanda Cirilli, You’re Doing Great, Mama Unicorn

“When you feel your sparkle start to fade, remember, love will always light the way.”
― Amanda Cirilli, You’re Doing Great, Mama Unicorn

“A mother wants every good, healthy, right thing for her children. She can’t help it; they are the only lives that mean more to her than her own.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Hope Evermore: Quotes, Verse, & Spiritual Inspiration for Every Day of the Year