--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: to a surprising conclusion about this…" description: "\"“to a surprising conclusion about this moment in our lives. No, it’s not that there are weird freckly spots on the back of our hands, although there ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/anna-quindlen-467_good-job_to-a-surprising-conclusion-about-this-mo_418911.jpg" --- # to a surprising conclusion about this moment in our lives… ![“to a surprising conclusion about this moment in our lives. No, it’s not that there are weird freckly spots on the back of our hands, although there are, or that construction guys don’t make smutty comments as we pass, although they don’t. It’s that we’ve done a pretty good job of becoming…” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/anna-quindlen-467_good-job_to-a-surprising-conclusion-about-this-mo_418911.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/anna-quindlen-467_good-job_to-a-surprising-conclusion-about-this-mo_418911.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/anna-quindlen-467_good-job_to-a-surprising-conclusion-about-this-mo_418911.jpg) > ““to a surprising conclusion about this moment in our lives. No, it’s not that there are weird freckly spots on the back of our hands, although there are, or that construction guys don’t make smutty comments as we pass, although they don’t. It’s that we’ve done a pretty good job of becoming ourselves, and that this is, in so many ways, the time of our lives. As Carly Simon once sang, “These are the good old days.” Lots of candles, plenty of cake. I wouldn’t be twenty-five again on a bet, or even forty.”” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on how we often romanticize the present, recognizing personal growth while acknowledging the fleeting nature of youth and the bittersweet acceptance of aging. **In simple terms:** We cherish the present but know it won’t last forever. Key Takeaway Embrace the present while planning for the future. Themes nostalgia aging self‑acceptance time growth Mood reflective bittersweet thoughtful Type personal essay observational philosophical When to use this quote - celebrating milestones - reflecting on career - reconciling with aging - making life choices Key Concepts existential reflection personal narrative cultural commentary Questions to Reflect On - What moments do you consider “the good old days” - How do you balance nostalgia with realistic planning? A Different Perspective The optimism may overlook deeper regrets or societal pressures that persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-job/) [Good Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old-301990/) [Good old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old-days/) [Lives Carly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-carly-3717717/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Moment Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-lives-2358519/) [Old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-days/) [Pretty good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-good/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time of our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-of-our-lives/) ## Related quotes > [“Raging crime, class warfare, invasive immigrants, light morals, public misbehavior. Always we convince ourselves that the parade of unwelcome and despised is a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/raging-crime-class-warfare-invasive-immigrants-light-morals-public/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/i-wish-there-was-a-way-to-know-you-were-in-the-good-old-days-before/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [In 50 years, I don't think you're gonna look back at 2006 and say, 'The good old days.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-flowers/in-50-years-i-don-t-think-you-re-gonna-look-back-at-2006-and-say-the/) [Brandon Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-flowers/) > [“What happened to the good old days when rich white men just bought their way into office?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/what-happened-to-the-good-old-days-when-rich-white-men-just-bought/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [“The majestic architecture, the cultivated manners, the simplicity of life, the disregard for one's fellow man, the plagues, the rampant corruption, the unmitigated racism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-elliott/the-majestic-architecture-the-cultivated-manners-the-simplicity-of/) [Chris Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-elliott/) > [I don't like conservatives. They always talk about the good old days. I'm black, we have no good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alonzo-bodden/i-don-t-like-conservatives-they-always-talk-about-the-good-old-days-i/) [Alonzo Bodden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alonzo-bodden/) > [Whatever happened to the good old days: you know, dirty attics, tuberculosis and general all-round suffering?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-wesker/whatever-happened-to-the-good-old-days-you-know-dirty-attics/) [Arnold Wesker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-wesker/) > [We grew up in the good old days before kids had these damn computers and actually played outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/we-grew-up-in-the-good-old-days-before-kids-had-these-damn-computers/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-bernard/i-wish-there-was-a-way-to-know-you-re-in-the-good-old-days-before-you/) [Andy Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-bernard/) > [“Not worried about the decor, Brandt. Seriously. Just find us some place where no one you knew from the good old days is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-lanyon/not-worried-about-the-decor-brandt-seriously-just-find-us-some-place/) [Josh Lanyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-lanyon/) > [I'm not the sort to wallow in nostalgia about the good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/i-m-not-the-sort-to-wallow-in-nostalgia-about-the-good-old-days/) [Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/) > [The good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-old-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The good old days. I was there. Where was they?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moms-mabley/the-good-old-days-i-was-there-where-was-they/) [Moms Mabley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moms-mabley/) > [Oh, give me back the good old days of fifty years ago,“ has been the cry ever since Adam's fifty-first birthday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/oh-give-me-back-the-good-old-days-of-fifty-years-ago-has-been-the-cry/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [When people talk about the good old days, I say to people, 'It's not the days that are old, it's you that's old.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/when-people-talk-about-the-good-old-days-i-say-to-people-it-s-not-the/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Good job quotes > [When I came to Chelsea, it was clear that, like many other players, I would first be loaned out. So I went to Belgium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorgan-hazard/when-i-came-to-chelsea-it-was-clear-that-like-many-other-players-i/) [Thorgan Hazard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorgan-hazard/) > [If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. That is up to you, but in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-list/if-you-want-to-edit-your-photos-and-make-yourself-look-different-go/) [Peyton List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-list/) > [“the importance of ability. 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We play mostly small venues, so we don't use it overboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zacky-vengeance/we-wanted-to-incorporate-lights-and-the-like-to-really-accentuate-the/) [Zacky Vengeance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zacky-vengeance/) > [Well, just that there would be somebody in the office and the voters - it was more or less an understanding in the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/well-just-that-there-would-be-somebody-in-the-office-and-the-voters/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [“A long time ago I realized that, as psychiatrists, we had to have a healthy respect for our own humanness, and our own smallness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-schiller/a-long-time-ago-i-realized-that-as-psychiatrists-we-had-to-have-a/) [Lori Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-schiller/) > [When I'm away from basketball, I'm the biggest kid. I do a good job of keeping myself sane. But on the other hand, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-duncan/when-i-m-away-from-basketball-i-m-the-biggest-kid-i-do-a-good-job-of/) [Tim Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-duncan/) > [I think it's really important to talk education, to talk infrastructure, to talk good jobs and the future of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-garcetti/i-think-it-s-really-important-to-talk-education-to-talk/) [Eric Garcetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-garcetti/) > [Go to a playground: Little girls get called 'bossy' all the time, a word that's almost never used for boys. 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No, it’s not that there are weird freckly spots on the back of our hands, although there are, or that construction guys don’t make smutty comments as we pass, although they don’t. It’s that we’ve done a pretty good job of becoming ourselves, and that this is, in so many ways, the time of our lives. As Carly Simon once sang, “These are the good old days.” Lots of candles, plenty of cake. 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