--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think that much about my…" description: "\"I don't think that much about my relationship with my mother and what it did to me. I sometimes feel terrible regret about her, what her life must have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alice-munro-1231_courage_i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relatio_1836041.png" --- # I don't think that much about my relationship with my… ![“I don't think that much about my relationship with my mother and what it did to me. I sometimes feel terrible regret about her, what her life must have been like. Often, when I'm enjoying something, I think of how meager her rewards were and how much courage, in a way, she needed to go on living.” quote by Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alice-munro-1231_courage_i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relatio_1836041.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alice-munro-1231_courage_i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relatio_1836041.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alice-munro-1231_courage_i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relatio_1836041.png) > “I don't think that much about my relationship with my mother and what it did to me. I sometimes feel terrible regret about her, what her life must have been like. Often, when I'm enjoying something, I think of how meager her rewards were and how much courage, in a way, she needed to go on living.” [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflecting on a mother’s sacrifices can bring regret and gratitude. **In simple terms:** Thinking about mother’s life brings mixed feelings. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and honor parental sacrifices. Themes regret gratitude family Mood somber introspective Type reflective emotional When to use this quote - family gatherings - therapy sessions - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology memory intergenerational trauma Questions to Reflect On - What can you do to honor your mother’s courage? - How does regret affect your present relationships? A Different Perspective Regret may hinder healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) ## Related quotes > [Trying times can seem terrible, but the only regret after making it through is not giving it your all. Chase your dreams, make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-times-can-seem-terrible-but-the-only-regret-after-making-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [I had a very, very difficult relationship with my mother, who was supremely self-centred. She was hilariously self-centred. She did not really take interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/i-had-a-very-very-difficult-relationship-with-my-mother-who-was/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [The relationship you have with your mother is like nothing else. They do kind of know everything about you, even though they don't confront…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/the-relationship-you-have-with-your-mother-is-like-nothing-else-they/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [Not every woman thinks that their mother is a nice person. I feel like when you really examine a woman's relationship with her mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-o-porter/not-every-woman-thinks-that-their-mother-is-a-nice-person-i-feel-like/) [Dawn O'Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-o-porter/) > [“The kind of relationship I had with my mother didn't make me gay. I had that kind of relationship with my mother because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/the-kind-of-relationship-i-had-with-my-mother-didn-t-make-me-gay-i/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [Men are confused. They're conflicted. They want a woman who's their intellectual equal, but they're afraid of women like that. They want a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-frolov/men-are-confused-they-re-conflicted-they-want-a-woman-who-s-their/) [Diane Frolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-frolov/) > [I think the relationship between mother and daughter is so interesting, even in a semi-normal family. Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke's family relationship is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-vancamp/i-think-the-relationship-between-mother-and-daughter-is-so/) [Emily VanCamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-vancamp/) > [I never thought about the relationship of my mother, my family, to the content of my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/i-never-thought-about-the-relationship-of-my-mother-my-family-to-the/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [When I was born, the wisdom was that homosexuality was an illness; that it was caused largely by somebody's mother, and a distorted relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/when-i-was-born-the-wisdom-was-that-homosexuality-was-an-illness-that/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [My relationship with my mother has always felt like the most complicated relationship of my life. I know I have a lot more writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-c-ortiz/my-relationship-with-my-mother-has-always-felt-like-the-most/) [Wendy C. Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-c-ortiz/) > [I had a very difficult relationship with my mother. She used to wake me up in the middle of the night if I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-had-a-very-difficult-relationship-with-my-mother-she-used-to-wake/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [I have a very wonderfully, bizarrely amazing relationship with my mother in that we've been through a myriad of emotions because we've acted together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/i-have-a-very-wonderfully-bizarrely-amazing-relationship-with-my/) [Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/) > [Even though I have a zero relationship with my mother in law, she still insists I call her mom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-though-i-have-a-zero-relationship-with-my-mother-in-law-she/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As we’ve gone along, I’ve pointed out that a warm childhood relationship with his mother—not maternal education—was significantly related to a man’s verbal test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-e-vaillant/as-we-ve-gone-along-i-ve-pointed-out-that-a-warm-childhood/) [George E. Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-e-vaillant/) ## More by Alice Munro > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Her silent singing wrapped around the story she was telling herself, which she extended further every night on the deck. (Averill often told herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/her-silent-singing-wrapped-around-the-story-she-was-telling-herself/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Something happened here. In your life there are a few places, or maybe only the one place, were something happened, and then there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/something-happened-here-in-your-life-there-are-a-few-places-or-maybe/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [My head was a magpie's nest lined with such bright scraps of information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/my-head-was-a-magpie-s-nest-lined-with-such-bright-scraps-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [The thing is to be happy, no matter what. Just try that. You can. It gets to be easier and easier. It's nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/the-thing-is-to-be-happy-no-matter-what-just-try-that-you-can-it-gets/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [What she wants to do if she can get the time to do it, is not so much to live in the past as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/what-she-wants-to-do-if-she-can-get-the-time-to-do-it-is-not-so-much/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Children Katy's age had no problem with monotony. In fact they embraced it, diving into it and wrapping the familiar words round their tongues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/children-katy-s-age-had-no-problem-with-monotony-in-fact-they/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“This is what happens. You put it away for a little while, and now and again you look in the closet for something else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/this-is-what-happens-you-put-it-away-for-a-little-while-and-now-and/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [She sits in her usual ample armchair, with piles of books and unopened magazines around her. She sips cautiously from the mug of weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-sits-in-her-usual-ample-armchair-with-piles-of-books-and-unopened/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [The images, the language, of pornography, and romance are alike; monotonous and mechanically seductive, quickly leading to despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/the-images-the-language-of-pornography-and-romance-are-alike/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I was a grade B housewife, maybe a B minus. But when I got time to write, I would be unable to finish a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-was-a-grade-b-housewife-maybe-a-b-minus-but-when-i-got-time-to/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [She would live now, not read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-would-live-now-not-read/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“You would think as you get older your mind would fill up with what they call the spiritual side of things, but mine just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/you-would-think-as-you-get-older-your-mind-would-fill-up-with-what/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Peoples lives, in Jubilee as elsewhere, were dull, simple, amazing, unfathomable-deep caves paved with kitchen linoleum. . . . What I wanted \[to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/peoples-lives-in-jubilee-as-elsewhere-were-dull-simple-amazing/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) [Explore all 261 Alice Munro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## More Courage quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [“It takes tremendous courage, persistence, and perseverance to pursue your ultimate purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/it-takes-tremendous-courage-persistence-and-perseverance-to-pursue/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. Conway > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Tranquillity is courage in repose. It is a statical manifestation of valor, as daring deeds are a dynamical. A truly brave man is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inazo-nitobe/tranquillity-is-courage-in-repose-it-is-a-statical-manifestation-of/) [Inazo Nitobe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inazo-nitobe/) > [When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/when-you-heed-the-calling-of-your-heart-you-are-following-your/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) > [“Of all the train, none escaped except Wamba, who showed upon the occasion much more courage than those who pretended to greater sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/of-all-the-train-none-escaped-except-wamba-who-showed-upon-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“There is nothing purer, braver, or more beautiful than the try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-armstrong/there-is-nothing-purer-braver-or-more-beautiful-than-the-try/) Kristen Armstrong > [“One theory on cannibals, of course, is that they eat parts of their slain enemies to benefit from that person's greatest assets - their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/one-theory-on-cannibals-of-course-is-that-they-eat-parts-of-their/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have pictures with Morimoto where I'm all embarrassed and he's so serious, it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/i-have-pictures-with-morimoto-where-i-m-all-embarrassed-and-he-s-so/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) [Browse all 14,559 Courage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think that much about my relationship with my mother and what it did to me. I sometimes feel terrible regret about her, what her life must have been like. Often, when I'm enjoying something, I think of how meager her rewards were and how much courage, in a way, she needed to go on living.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Munro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relationship-with-my-mother-and-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relationship-with-my-mother-and-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alice-munro-1231_courage_i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relatio_1836041.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alice-munro-1231_courage_i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relatio_1836041.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alice-munro-1231_courage_i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relatio_1836041.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think that much about my relationship with my mother and what it did to me. I sometimes feel…” — Alice Munro", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Munro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't think that much about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relationship-with-my-mother-and-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-don-t-think-that-much-about-my-relationship-with-my-mother-and-what/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```