How simple a thing it seems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mothers' names.

Alice Walker (1944 - ), O Magazine, May 2003

The world is full of women blindsided by the unceasing demands of motherhood, still flabbergasted by how a job can be terrific and torturous¹.

Anna Quindlen (1953 - ), O Magazine, May 2003

Sometimes the laughter in mothering is the recognition of the ironies² and absurdities³. Sometime, though, it's just pure, unthinking delight.

Barbara Schapiro, O Magazine, May 2003

Sooner or later we all quote our mothers.

Bern Williams

The place of the father in the modern suburban⁴ family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf.

Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

The most remarkable⁵ thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers⁶. The original meal has never been found.

Calvin Trillin (1935 - )

My parents only had one argument in forty-five years. It lasted forty-three years.

Cathy Ladman

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.

Charles Wadsworth

Your parents, they give you your life, but then they try to give you their life.

Chuck Palahniuk (1962 - ), Invisible Monsters, 1999

The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children.

Clarence Darrow (1857 - 1938)

There's something unnatural⁷ about a woman finding babies or, more specifically, conversation about babies, boring. They'll think she's bitter, jealous, lonely. But she's also bored of everybody telling her how lucky she is, what with all that sleep and all that freedom and spare time, the ability to go on dates or head off to Paris at a moments notice. It sounds like they're consoling her, and she resents this and feels patronized by it.

David Nicholls, One Day, 2010

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't, either.

Dick Cavett (1936 - )

A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.

Dorothy C. Fisher (1879 - 1958), quoted in O Magazine, May 2003

The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.

Elain Heffner, O Magazine, May 2003

The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh⁸ our fears.

Ellen Goodman (1941 - )

Having a baby's sweet face so close to your own, for so long a time as it takes to nurse 'em, is a great tonic⁹ for a sad soul.

Erica Eisdorfer, The Wet Nurse's Tale, 2009

Losing a baby is not a thing that you could ever get used to.

Erica Eisdorfer, The Wet Nurse's Tale, 2009

The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.

Euripides (484 BC - 406 BC), Phrixus

There is…nothing to suggest that mothering cannot be shared by several people.

H. R. Schaffer, O Magazine, May 2003

That’s sort of a cliché about parents. We all believe that our children are the most beautiful children in the world. But the thing is, what no one really talks about is the fact that we all really believe it.

Heather Armstrong, Dooce, 05-04-06

This is part of the essence of motherhood, watching your kid grow into her own person and not being able to do anything about it. Otherwise children would be nothing more than pets.

Heather Armstrong, Dooce, 11-15-05

For rarely are sons similar to their fathers: most are worse, and a few are better than their fathers.

Homer (800 BC - 700 BC), The Odyssey¹⁰

The most important thing she'd learned over the years was that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.

Jill Churchill, O Magazine, May 2003

Just a word of advice. Whenever you're furious with your parents or you think they're terrible, just remember, you vomited¹² on them and they kept you.

John Green, Vlogbrothers, The Five Worst Places to Vomit¹¹, 09-04-12

It's interesting, on your second day of existence, to realize that your father is going to blame all the future failures of his life on you.

Josh Lieb, I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President, 2009

Fostering a spirit of cooperation with your ex means laying down your weapons in the war of divorce in order to protect your children.

Julie A., M.A. Ross and Judy Corcoran, Joint¹³ Custody¹⁴ with a Jerk: Raising a Child with an Uncooperative Ex, 2011

It’s helpful to imagine your relationship with him or her as a business relationship rather than a personal one. Just as you wouldn’t share that you’re feeling fat, ugly, and depressed¹⁵ with a client or tell her that you’ve just met the love of your life and you’ve never been happier, these thoughts and feelings should be kept to yourself and not shared with your ex. Finally, as in any good business relationship, be honest and prepared to deliver what you promise.

Julie A., M.A. Ross and Judy Corcoran, Joint Custody with a Jerk: Raising a Child with an Uncooperative Ex, 2011

The point is that no matter what your feelings are, your children will be better off if you make them your central focus and work diligently¹⁶ at keeping the parenting relationship civil and cooperative.

Julie A., M.A. Ross and Judy Corcoran, Joint Custody with a Jerk: Raising a Child with an Uncooperative Ex, 2011

It does not always follow that good men are good fathers.

Kathryn L. Nelson, Pemberley Manor¹⁷, 2006

The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children.

King Edward VIII (1894 - 1972)