The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio Quotes

“Writer's Resolution
Enough's Enough! No more shall I
Pursue the Muse and scorch the pie
Or dream of Authoring a book
When I (unhappy soul) must cook;
Or burn the steak while I wool-gather,
And stir my spouse into a lather
Invoking words like "Darn!" and such
And others that are worse (Oh, much!)
Concerning culinary knack
Which I (HE says) completely lack.
I'll keep my mind upon my work;
I'll learn each boresome cooking quirk;
This day shall mark a new leaf's turning...
That smell! Oh Hell! The beans are burning!”
― Terry Ryan, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less

“Sometimes when your life seems most out of control, you know there's a direction. I don't mean you can't have free will--in fact, that can be the most important part.”
― Terry Ryan, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less

“Sometimes t feels like I live in a circus and all the animals are loose.”
― Terry Ryan, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less

“Every time I pass church
I stop and make a visit
So when I'm carried in feet first
God won't say, "Who is it?”
― Terry Ryan, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less

“From then on, we knew there could never be a problem bigger than Mom's ability to solve it.”
― Terry Ryan, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less

“At that moment we knew that as long as we used our brains, we were not victims. By striking out to write our own ticket, we would grow up to be like our mother, winners.”
― Terry Ryan, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less

“My mother didn't like to hear profanity, and she certainly never spoke it. She had always told us that swearing was the sign of a lackluster vocabulary and, worse, a stunted imagination. "There are so many interesting words to use, along or in combination," she said, "that I don't know why anyone would fall back on one-syllable obscenities.”
― Terry Ryan, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less