--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father has always broken the rules for…" description: "\"“My father has always broken the rules for those he loves, just as my mother has always kept them for the same reason. [...] 'We can't give you the lif..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/ally-condie-434_father_my-father-has-always-broken-the-rules-fo_3079247.jpg" --- # My father has always broken the rules for those he loves… ![“My father has always broken the rules for those he loves, just as my mother has always kept them for the same reason. [...] 'We can't give you the life you want,' my father says, his eyes wet. He looks at my mother and she nods at him to continue. 'We wish we could. But we can help you have a…” quote by Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/ally-condie-434_father_my-father-has-always-broken-the-rules-fo_3079247.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/ally-condie-434_father_my-father-has-always-broken-the-rules-fo_3079247.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/ally-condie-434_father_my-father-has-always-broken-the-rules-fo_3079247.jpg) > ““My father has always broken the rules for those he loves, just as my mother has always kept them for the same reason. \[...\] 'We can't give you the life you want,' my father says, his eyes wet. He looks at my mother and she nods at him to continue. 'We wish we could. But we can help you have a chance to decide which life you want.”” [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parents break or enforce rules out of love, offering guidance while respecting autonomy. **In simple terms:** Parents balance protection and freedom for their child. Key Takeaway Respect both guidance and independence. Themes family guidance autonomy Mood empathetic thoughtful Type fictional dialogue When to use this quote - parenting advice - teen decision making - life planning Key Concepts love boundary setting Questions to Reflect On - How do you negotiate boundaries with loved ones? - When should you let go of control? A Different Perspective Overprotectiveness can stifle growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [No matter where you come from, no matter what you decide to do in life, you can do anything you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-breed/no-matter-where-you-come-from-no-matter-what-you-decide-to-do-in-life/) [London Breed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-breed/) > [Faith is not about serving some tyrant in the sky that says, 'You need to get your act together.' Faith is about having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/faith-is-not-about-serving-some-tyrant-in-the-sky-that-says-you-need/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [It is important not to copy other people's careers but set the tone of who you want to be. 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They don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/unfortunately-in-self-discovery-you-get-the-culty-types-who-want-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I never want to be a father figure to my quarterbacks. I've got my own kids. I want to be the cool uncle you'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-arians/i-never-want-to-be-a-father-figure-to-my-quarterbacks-i-ve-got-my-own/) [Bruce Arians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-arians/) > [“I’d like to meet a woman who can think for herself and doesn’t want only what her father or husband wants.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramona-flightner/i-d-like-to-meet-a-woman-who-can-think-for-herself-and-doesn-t-want/) Ramona Flightner > [The one thing I've always said is I don't want them growing up without a father, and they're my inspiration to make sure I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ant-middleton/the-one-thing-i-ve-always-said-is-i-don-t-want-them-growing-up/) [Ant Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ant-middleton/) > [If your dad is anything like mine, then you have no clue what to buy him for Father's Day. The only Father's Day tradition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-showalter/if-your-dad-is-anything-like-mine-then-you-have-no-clue-what-to-buy/) [Michael Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-showalter/) > [You don't want him for a reason. You want him because he's your father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-him-for-a-reason-you-want-him-because-he-s-your-father/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Who's St Nicholas? I don't want him, I want Father Christmas!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-bailey/who-s-st-nicholas-i-don-t-want-him-i-want-father-christmas/) [Scarlett Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-bailey/) > [I want the father of my kids to be my husband not my baby daddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uknown/i-want-the-father-of-my-kids-to-be-my-husband-not-my-baby-daddy/) Uknown > [“I want to be the father I never had and the husband my mother was cheated out of. So if I have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-carmel/i-want-to-be-the-father-i-never-had-and-the-husband-my-mother-was/) [Marissa Carmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-carmel/) > [“I want my father to be just my father, the way he has always been, not a separate person with an earlier, mythological life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-want-my-father-to-be-just-my-father-the-way-he-has-always-been-not/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More by Ally Condie > [“But I also know we can’t plan on anyone else rescuing us. We have to do it ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/but-i-also-know-we-can-t-plan-on-anyone-else-rescuing-us-we-have-to/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“Ever since the day of the mistake with my Match. I've never known which life is my true one. Even with the reassurances of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/ever-since-the-day-of-the-mistake-with-my-match-i-ve-never-known/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“She knows how things fit together and move, but so few people understand her. She’s the most solitary person I’ve ever known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/she-knows-how-things-fit-together-and-move-but-so-few-people/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“There are many of them in the world, I think, good men and women with their frail deeds. Wondering what might have been, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/there-are-many-of-them-in-the-world-i-think-good-men-and-women-with/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“You wouldn't think you can forget but sometimes you can—for a moment or two. I've never been able to decide if I think that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/you-wouldn-t-think-you-can-forget-but-sometimes-you-can-for-a-moment/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“It doesn't matter much anyway. I haven't slept well since he left. I can't dream. In some ways, that's the hardest part of having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/it-doesn-t-matter-much-anyway-i-haven-t-slept-well-since-he-left-i/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“She's right. We would compose poems about love and tell stories that have been heard in some form before. But it would be our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/she-s-right-we-would-compose-poems-about-love-and-tell-stories-that/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“How we never, ever fight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/how-we-never-ever-fight/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“Perhaps it is because now I live in his story. Now I am a part of his, and he of mine, and the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/perhaps-it-is-because-now-i-live-in-his-story-now-i-am-a-part-of-his/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“Of course, one person can be the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/of-course-one-person-can-be-the-world/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“I wonder if they'll be able to resist. It's not exactly easy to save things for the future when the present is so uncertain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-wonder-if-they-ll-be-able-to-resist-it-s-not-exactly-easy-to-save/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“I think of how many invisible injuries are possible. Ones scored on your heart, your brain, your bones. How do we all stand? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-think-of-how-many-invisible-injuries-are-possible-ones-scored-on/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“I see a glint in her eye as she looks at me and it makes me smile. Hold our breath? she seems to say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-see-a-glint-in-her-eye-as-she-looks-at-me-and-it-makes-me-smile/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“What is the point of having something lovely if you never share it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/what-is-the-point-of-having-something-lovely-if-you-never-share-it/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“She’s trying to figure out the Plague on her own and not taking what the Rising says for granted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/she-s-trying-to-figure-out-the-plague-on-her-own-and-not-taking-what/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) [Explore all 526 Ally Condie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) ## 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": "“My father has always broken the rules for those he loves, just as my mother has always kept them for the same reason. [...] 'We can't give you the life you want,' my father says, his eyes wet. He looks at my mother and she nods at him to continue. 'We wish we could. 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