Quotes About Family

Love. Family. Laughter. That's what I remember when it's all said and done.

loss had rearranged her from the inside out. Now she knew how much family mattered and how important it was to hang on to the people you loved.

now, of all moments, at this time when her love for her children almost bowled her over and she thought, even in the midst of all this hardship and failure, I have raised good children. Kind, caring, loving people. "I'll write something," Elsa said. "Will you let us read it, Mommy?" Ant asked. "Maybe someday.

I can't," Mama finally said, and Leni thought they were the saddest, most pathetic words she'd ever heard.

Matthew grieved for the mother he'd had. He figured Leni would grieve for the dad she wanted.

You blame yourself when they are the ones to blame." Rose gave her a steady, reassuring look. "Remember, cara, hard times don't last. Land and family do." TWELVE In November, the first winter storm battered them from the north, leaving behind a fine layer of snow.

Leni shrugged. She didn't know exactly what to say, or how to say it without revealing too much. "He has—nightmares—and bad weather can set him off. Sometimes. But he hasn't had a nightmare since we moved here. So maybe he's better.

But no matter how hard they all tried to be normal, their life was a dirty window that couldn't be wiped clean. Everything, every moment, was coated by illness.

We fought, we struggled, we hurt each other, so what? That's what love is, I think. It's all of it - the dust, the drought, the fights with you - never once did I stop loving you or Ant or the farm.

That was the thing about her dad: he might be moody and sharp-tempered, even a little scary sometimes, but that was just because he felt things like love and loss and disappointment so keenly.

Mama wanted to induct Leni into some terrible, silent club to which Leni didn't want to belong. She didn't want to pretend what had happened was normal, but what was she—a kid—supposed to do about it?

Dad held Mama as if she were made of glass. So careful, so concerned for her well-being. It filled Leni with an impotent rage. And then she'd get a glimpse of him with tears in his eyes and the rage would turn soft and slide into something like forgiveness. She didn't know how to corral or change either of these emotions; her love for him was all tangled up in hate. Right now she felt both emotions crowding in on her, each jostling for the lead.

Elsa held her children's hands. They stood on the muddy bank and looked up to the bright heavens and sang hymns and Christmas songs, and by the end, none of them cared that the local churches denied them entry or that their clothes were ragged and dirty or that Christmas dinner would be small. They found strength in each other. Elsa and Jean looked at each other as they sang the words be unbroken.

I love you, Papa," she said quietly, realizing how true it was, how true it had always been. Love had turned into loss and she'd pushed it away, but somehow, impossibly, a bit of that love had remained. A girl's love for her father. Immutable. Unbearable but unbreakable.

She was mad at the world, and somehow that meant she was mad at her mom most of all.

Tully shook her head. "Marah, your mother loves you no matter what and she's proud of you. Believe me, princess, that's the coolest thing in the world.

As I write, I am reminded of that passage from the Bible—the one that is read at every wedding: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child." Now, I understand as an adult. Maybe for the first time in my life. This article would break my mother's heart, and perhaps even worse, her spirit. That didn't matter to me a week ago; in fact, I wanted to hurt her then. My only excuse: then I was a child.

They both understood; every at-home mom in the world understood. Ultimately there were prices to be paid for the choices a woman made.

Mama had chosen to dig for treasure through the dirt of Dad's toxic, porous love, but not Leni. Not anymore.

Don't be who you needed to be over there. Come home to the people who love you. I wish to hell I'd figured out a way to do that.

My dearest Tully— I am so sorry. I know how afraid you are of being alone, of being left behind, but God has His plan for all of us. I would have stayed with you longer if I could have. Your grandfather and I will always be watching out for you from Heaven.

I love you, Papa," she said quietly, realizing how true it was, how true it had always been. Love had turned into loss and she'd pushed it away, but somehow, impossibly, a bit of that love had remained. A girl's love for her father. Immutable. Unbearable but unbreakable.

Forever. That's how long we'll have an empty place at the table.

Kid, the people who love you stay. You've already learned that. Go find your mom and tell her you've been as dumb as a box of marbles. And let her hold you tight.