--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is what happens. You put it away for…" description: "\"“This is what happens. You put it away for a little while, and now and again you look in the closet for something else and you remember, and you think,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/alice-munro-1231_memory_this-is-what-happens-you-put-it-away-for_2879274.png" --- # This is what happens. You put it away for a little while… ![“This is what happens. You put it away for a little while, and now and again you look in the closet for something else and you remember, and you think, soon. Then it becomes something that is just there, in the closet, and other things get crowded in front of it and on top of it and finally you…” quote by Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/alice-munro-1231_memory_this-is-what-happens-you-put-it-away-for_2879274.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/alice-munro-1231_memory_this-is-what-happens-you-put-it-away-for_2879274.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/alice-munro-1231_memory_this-is-what-happens-you-put-it-away-for_2879274.png) > ““This is what happens. You put it away for a little while, and now and again you look in the closet for something else and you remember, and you think, soon. Then it becomes something that is just there, in the closet, and other things get crowded in front of it and on top of it and finally you don't think about it at all. The thing that was your bright treasure. You don't think about it. A loss you could not contemplate at one time, and now it becomes something you can barely remember.”” [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. Neglected aspirations fade into memory, becoming insignificant as new concerns crowd them out. **In simple terms:** Forgotten dreams disappear over time. Key Takeaway Revisit and nurture old goals. Themes memory regret priorities Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - goal setting - life planning - mental health Key Concepts psychology habit formation nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What old dream still matters to you? - How can you keep important goals visible? A Different Perspective People may feel overwhelmed to revisit past dreams. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Closet Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closet-remember-1450683/) [Closet Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closet-things-3121996/) [Loss Contemplate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss-contemplate-1450684/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remember Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-think-574719/) [Think Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-loss-396499/) [Treasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treasures/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [“The thing that was your bright treasure. You don’t think about it. 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Things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/my-wife-there-s-certain-kinds-of-housework-that-she-just-doesn-t-see/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [“There are skeletons in everyone's closet, things no one ever wants the world to discover.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/there-are-skeletons-in-everyone-s-closet-things-no-one-ever-wants-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Grief is a kind of war, I think now. Loss is like a bullet. 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I shivered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wondered-what-can-come-after-childhood-when-scenes-like-these-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm not always able to think about so much loss without bitterness and anger. I don't know if I'll ever be capable of loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-miles/i-m-not-always-able-to-think-about-so-much-loss-without-bitterness/) [Sara Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-miles/) > [I think loss can fuel how you lead your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-short/i-think-loss-can-fuel-how-you-lead-your-whole-life/) [Martin Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-short/) > [I think loss of loved ones is the hardest blow in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-think-loss-of-loved-ones-is-the-hardest-blow-in-life/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [“I was thinking of how, when we think of loss in our life, how our sense of ‘home’ was the first thing to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-vohn/i-was-thinking-of-how-when-we-think-of-loss-in-our-life-how-our-sense/) [Tabitha Vohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-vohn/) > [No matter how I try hard to forget you, My eyes only remember you. Can you think of me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-matter-how-i-try-hard-to-forget-you-my-eyes-only-remember-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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. 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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 Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is what happens. You put it away for a little while, and now and again you look in the closet for something else and you remember, and you think, soon. 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