Civilizing Quotes by Mary Blakely

The truth invariably arrives several years after you need it.

— Mary Blakely

However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology,fate . . . until we can actually…

— Mary Blakely

In motherhood, where seemingly opposite realities can be simultaneously true, the role of nurturer invariably conflicts with the role of socializer. When trouble came…

— Mary Blakely

Mothers are likely to have more bad days on the job than most other professionals, considering the hours: round-the-clock, seven days a week, fifty-two…

— Mary Blakely

By now, legions of tireless essayists and op-ed columnists have dressed feminists down for making such a fuss about entering the professions and earning…

— Mary Blakely

Families don't always realize that mother is exhausted, because mother is always exhausted. Exhausted is what looks normal.

— Mary Blakely

If my sons are to become the kind of men our daughters would be pleased to live among, attention to domestic details is critical.The…

— Mary Blakely

After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I'd read,…

— Mary Blakely

A "snapshot" feature in USA Today listed the five greatest concerns parents and teachers had about children in the '50s: talking out of turn,…

— Mary Blakely

Most literature on the culture of adolescence focuses on peer pressure as a negative force. Warnings about the "wrong crowd" read like tornado alerts…

— Mary Blakely

However global I strove to become in my thinking over the past twenty years, my sons kept me rooted to an utterly pedestrian view,intimately…

— Mary Blakely

In the range of things toddlers have to learn and endlessly review--why you can't put bottles with certain labels in your mouth, why you…

— Mary Blakely

When trouble comes no mother should have to plead guilty alone. The pediatricians, psychologists, therapists, goat herders, fathers, and peer groups should all be…

— Mary Blakely

It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been--and even then thereare surprises.…

— Mary Blakely

One life stamps and influences another, which in turn stamps and influences another, on and on, until the soul of human experience breathes on…

— Mary Blakely