Missing May Quotes

“But what is it that makes a person want to stay here on this earth anyway, and go on suffering the most awful pain just for the sake of getting to stay? I used to think it was because people fear death. But now I think it is because people can't bear saying goodbye.”
― Cynthia Rylant, Missing May

“[May] understood people and she let them be whatever way they needed to be. She had faith in every single person she ever met, and this never failed her, for nobody ever disappointed May. Seems people knew she saw the very best of them, and they'd turn that side to her to give her a better look.”
― Cynthia Rylant, Missing May

“We wanted a family so bad, all of us. And we just grabbed each another and made us one. Simple as that.”
― Cynthia Rylant, Missing May

“I know I must have been loved like that, even if I can’t remember it. I must have; otherwise, how could I even recognize love when I saw it that night between Ob and May? Before she died, I know my mother must have loved to comb my shiny hair and rub that Johnson’s baby lotion up and down my arms and wrap me up and hold and hold me all night long. She must have known she wasn’t going to live and she must have held me longer than any other mother might, so I’d have enough love in me to know what love was when I saw it or felt it again.”
― Cynthia Rylant, Missing May

“That's got to be at least one of the benefits of Heaven - never having to act normal again.”
― Cynthia Rylant, Missing May

“May always said we were angels before we were ever people. She said when we were finished being people we'd go back to being angels. And we'd never feel pain again. But what is it that makes a person want to stay here an this earth anyway, and go on suffering the most awful pain just for the sake of getting to stay? I used to think it was because people fear death. But now I think it is because people can't bear saying good-bye. May was lucky. When she had to say her goodbye to Ob, she had to hurt over it only once. And then she was an angel and it didn't hurt her anymore. But Ob. Ob hurt and he kept on hurting. Living in a trailer full of May's empty spaces. Walking through May's dying garden. Sleeping in a bed that still left room for her. He hurt so much. But even after his most terrible hours, he decided to stay here on this earth. Right out of the blue, he wanted to live again. And I'd like to think maybe he wanted to live because of me. Because he couldn't bear the thought of saying good-bye to me.”
― Cynthia Rylant, Missing May