---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On my way home from the junior high, I…"
description: "\"“On my way home from the junior high, I would sometimes stop at the edge of our property and watch my mother ride the ride-on mower, looping in and out..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/alice-sebold-999_father_on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-wo_475618.jpg"
---

#  On my way home from the junior high, I would sometimes…

![“On my way home from the junior high, I would sometimes stop at the edge of our property and watch my mother ride the ride-on mower, looping in and out among the pine trees, and I could remember then how she used to whistle in the mornings as she made her tea and how my father, rushing home on…” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/alice-sebold-999_father_on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-wo_475618.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/alice-sebold-999_father_on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-wo_475618.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/alice-sebold-999_father_on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-wo_475618.jpg)

> ““On my way home from the junior high, I would sometimes stop at the edge of our property and watch my mother ride the ride-on mower, looping in and out among the pine trees, and I could remember then how she used to whistle in the mornings as she made her tea and how my father, rushing home on Thursdays, would bring her marigolds and her face would light up in yellowy in delight. They had been deeply, separately, wholly in love- apart from her children my mother could reclaim this love, but with them she began to drift. It was my father who grew toward us as the years went by; it was my mother who grew away. ~pg 153; love””

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Childhood memories of parents reveal love, distance, and changing family dynamics.

**In simple terms:** Parents' love changes over time.

Key Takeaway

Cherish fleeting family moments.

Themes

family memory love

Mood

nostalgic melancholic

Type

literary reflective

When to use this quote

- reflecting
- writing
- healing
- reconnecting

Key Concepts

parental love growth separation

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you reconcile past and present love?
- What does distance teach about affection?

A Different Perspective

Memory can be idealized.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Junior high](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/junior-high/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Pine trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pine-trees/)

## Related quotes

> [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

> [I analyse everything I do to see if I can do better, that's how I grew over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-leclerc/i-analyse-everything-i-do-to-see-if-i-can-do-better-that-s-how-i-grew/)

[Charles Leclerc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-leclerc/)

> [I was two years old when I told my mom I was going to be in a band when I grew up, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kinsella/i-was-two-years-old-when-i-told-my-mom-i-was-going-to-be-in-a-band/)

[Tim Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kinsella/)

> [“Her eyes were the eyes of one who can remember; one whose childhood does not fade like a dream, nor whose youth vanish like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/her-eyes-were-the-eyes-of-one-who-can-remember-one-whose-childhood/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [I think everybody knows my sound because I'm me, you know? But, on your fourth album, I think you've definitely gotta show growth because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-jeezy/i-think-everybody-knows-my-sound-because-i-m-me-you-know-but-on-your/)

[Young Jeezy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-jeezy/)

> [I knew, even at eight, that the confusion of values thrust upon me by parents, teachers, other children, nannies, camp counselors, and others would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion-of-values-thrust-upon-me-by/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [“It gave her a sudden sense that it was now her turn to grow old, to find the world changing, sliding away from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/it-gave-her-a-sudden-sense-that-it-was-now-her-turn-to-grow-old-to/)

[John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/)

> [My mother grew up strong. She was a charismatic leader among her peers, staging plays, organizing projects, raising money for charity; she was fiercely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/my-mother-grew-up-strong-she-was-a-charismatic-leader-among-her-peers/)

[Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/)

> [My grandmother was a very charitable woman, and my mother grew up that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/my-grandmother-was-a-very-charitable-woman-and-my-mother-grew-up-that/)

[Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/)

> [I talked to my mother about it a lot. I asked her what it was like to grow up in New York and Harlem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-talked-to-my-mother-about-it-a-lot-i-asked-her-what-it-was-like-to/)

[Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/)

> [“...it's true what they say about turning into your mother; I grew up with her yelling, 'Am I talking to myself?' To which, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-potter/it-s-true-what-they-say-about-turning-into-your-mother-i-grew-up-with/)

[Alexandra Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-potter/)

> [In two Indians were a little girl and took it and brought them up after their mother she grew up found it!!!!!!!!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wol/in-two-indians-were-a-little-girl-and-took-it-and-brought-them-up/)

Lil Wol

> [“The most she knew about gardens was the Bakers’ own backyard, which contained one large mulberry tree and a rosebush, plus the window boxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/the-most-she-knew-about-gardens-was-the-bakers-own-backyard-which/)

[Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/)

> [“Sir, this young fellow's mother could: whereupon she grew round-wombed, and had, indeed, sir, a son for her cradle ere she had a husband…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/sir-this-young-fellow-s-mother-could-whereupon-she-grew-round-wombed/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I barely saw my mother, and the mom I saw was often angry and unhappy. The mother I grew up with is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-barely-saw-my-mother-and-the-mom-i-saw-was-often-angry-and-unhappy/)

[Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/)

## More by Alice Sebold

> [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

[Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

## More Father quotes

> [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/)

[John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/)

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/)

[Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/)

> [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/)

[Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/)

> [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/)

[Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/)

> [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/)

[Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/)

> [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/)

[Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/)

> [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/)

[Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/)

> [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/)

[Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/)

> [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/)

[Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/)

> [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/)

[Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/)

> [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/)

[Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/)

> [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

[Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“On my way home from the junior high, I would sometimes stop at the edge of our property and watch my mother ride the ride-on mower, looping in and out among the pine trees, and I could remember then how she used to whistle in the mornings as she made her tea and how my father, rushing home on Thursdays, would bring her marigolds and her face would light up in yellowy in delight. They had been deeply, separately, wholly in love- apart from her children my mother could reclaim this love, but with them she began to drift. It was my father who grew toward us as the years went by; it was my mother who grew away. ~pg 153; love”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alice Sebold"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-would-sometimes-stop-at-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Father"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-would-sometimes-stop-at-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/alice-sebold-999_father_on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-wo_475618.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/alice-sebold-999_father_on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-wo_475618.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/alice-sebold-999_father_on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-wo_475618.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“On my way home from the junior high, I would sometimes stop at the edge of our property and watch my mother…” — Alice Sebold",
                "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 Sebold",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“On my way home from the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-would-sometimes-stop-at-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-would-sometimes-stop-at-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
