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Judith Viorst Quotes

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Judith Viorst is an American author known for her humor and insightful writing. Born on February 2, 1931, her works span across children's literature, adult fiction, and poetry, with a particular talent for depicting life from a child's perspective.

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All Mother Children Loss Self Ifs Love Is Age Feels Love Our Children Parent Dream Growing Up Left May Needs Separation Want Aging Childhood

Famous Judith Viorst Quotes

“[On writing her first poem at age eight:] An ode to my dead mother and father, who were both alive and pretty pissed off.”

Writing Firsts Children Age Mother Father Alive Poet Eight Mother And Father Pissed Off Odes Dead Mother

Author:Judith Viorst

“Just as children, step by step, must separate from their parents, we will have to separate from them. And we will probably suffer...from some degree of separation anxiety: because separation ends sweet symbiosis. Because separation reduces our power and control. Because separation makes us feel less needed, less important. And because separation exposes our children to danger.”

Feels Children Important Ends Suffering Parent Steps Danger Sweet Needed Degrees Anxiety Our Children Separation Power And Control Symbiosis

Author:Judith Viorst

“We can glut ourselves with how-to-raise children information . . . strive to become more mature and aware but none of this will spare us from the . . . inevitability that some of the time we are going to fail our children. Because there is a big gap between knowing and doing. Because mature, aware people are imperfect too. Or because some current event in our life may so absorb or depress us that when our children need us we cannot come through.”

“Eventually we will learn that the loss of indivisible love is another of our necessary losses, that loving extends beyond the mother-child pair, that most of the love we receive in this world is love we will have to share--and that sharing begins at home, with our sibling rivals.”

World Children Home Mother Loss Love Is Share This World Pairs Rivals Sibling Rivalry Indivisible Sibling Rivalry Mother Child

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“We grow because the clamorous, permanent presence of our children forces us to put their needs before ours. We grow because our love for our children urges us to change as nothing else in our lives has the power to do. We grow (if we're willing to grow, that is: not every parent is willing) because being a parent helps us stop being a child.”

Ifs Needs Children Helping Force Grows Parent Our Lives Willing Our Children Permanent Urges Our Love Being A Parent Love Our Children

Author:Judith Viorst

“You end up as you deserve. In old age you must put up with the face, the friends, the health, and the children you have earned.”

Children Ends Age Faces Deserve Aging Old Age

Author:Judith Viorst

“We will have to give up the hope that, if we try hard, we somehow will always do right by our children. The connection is imperfect. We will sometimes do wrong.”

Ifs Giving Trying Children Sometimes Hard Giving Up Connections Our Children Imperfect

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“Sun lighting a child's hair. A friend's embrace. Slow dancing in a safe and quiet place. The pleasures of an ordinary life.”

Children Pleasure Sun Hair Quiet Safe Ordinary Embrace Dancing Lighting Ordinary Life Quiet Place

Book:Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations

Source: Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations

“Because we believe ourselves to be better parents than our parents, we expect to produce better children than they produced.”

Believe Children Parent Produce

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex