The Nine of Us Quotes

“Humor is a necessary part of wisdom; it gives perspective; it frees the spirit. —ROSE FITZGERALD KENNEDY I”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“(Dad) could not abide us feeling sorry for ourselves. Life was far too good for us to whine about small things. It was selfish, and on top of that, it was boring.”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“I have noted that with you popular opinions are frequently accepted as true opinions. There is nothing particularly wrong in this, it’s safe and you’ve got plenty of company, which you like. But I think you’ll find that the majority are only occasionally well-informed and that your own judgement is frequently better, and will always be more Christian than opinion in mass. So don’t bum rides on other people’s opinions. It’s lazy at best and in some cases much worse.”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“If children are to develop into effective people, the process must begin when they are small,” Mother once wrote, remembering our childhood.”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord Amen.”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“It has been said, “time heals all wounds.” I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone. —ROSE FITZGERALD KENNEDY”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“To whom much has been given, much is expected”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“Mother and Dad felt that in order for us to understand the people and events around us, we needed a strong grasp of the people and events that came before. They made sure that our Grandpa and Grandma were fixtures in our childhood so that we had an appreciation for life outside our generation and an understanding of the odds that they and their parents faced.”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

“Dad’s voice would clamp down on our ears: “Fix it. There’s no whining in this house.” He could not abide us feeling sorry for ourselves. Life was far too good for us to whine about small things. It was selfish, and on top of that, it was boring. Why should everyone else have to suffer through your complaints about homework?”
― Jean Kennedy Smith, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy