--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's funny: I always imagined when I was…" description: "\"It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/anne-lamott-188_adults_it-s-funny-i-always-imagined-when-i-was_739516.png" --- # It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults… ![“It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience…” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/anne-lamott-188_adults_it-s-funny-i-always-imagined-when-i-was_739516.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/anne-lamott-188_adults_it-s-funny-i-always-imagined-when-i-was_739516.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/anne-lamott-188_adults_it-s-funny-i-always-imagined-when-i-was_739516.png) > “It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do.” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life provides imperfect tools—friendship, prayer, conscience, honesty—yet using them earnestly leads to success despite their flaws. **In simple terms:** Imperfect tools can still work well. Key Takeaway Make the best of what you have. Themes resilience faith morality growth Mood reflective encouraging Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - personal challenges - career setbacks - relationship issues Key Concepts existentialism pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - What “rusty tools” do you rely on? - How can you improve them? A Different Perspective Tools may be limited; effort matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Against all odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/against-all-odds/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Discernment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discernment/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Sandpaper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sandpaper/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [This world is not a platform where you will hear Thalberg-piano-playing. It is a piano manufactory, where are dust and shavings and boards, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/this-world-is-not-a-platform-where-you-will-hear-thalberg-piano/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Masturbate with sandpaper!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jugi-steady/masturbate-with-sandpaper/) [Jugi Steady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jugi-steady/) > [Sometimes, God uses difficult people, like sandpaper, to rub the rough edges off us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/sometimes-god-uses-difficult-people-like-sandpaper-to-rub-the-rough/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I stayed under the moon too long.I am silvered with lust.Dreams flick like minnows through my eyes.My voice is trees tossing in the wind.I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/i-stayed-under-the-moon-too-long-i-am-silvered-with-lust-dreams-flick/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Everything is mediated. Everything is influenced by its maker. And happily, right? I'm so happy everyone leaves fingerprints on things whether they like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/everything-is-mediated-everything-is-influenced-by-its-maker-and/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [God went out of me as if the sea dried up like sandpaper, as if the sun became a latrine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/god-went-out-of-me-as-if-the-sea-dried-up-like-sandpaper-as-if-the-2/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [By the way, for those who are listening, I absolutely define - I have a face for radio. Unfortunately, I've got a voice for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-luntz/by-the-way-for-those-who-are-listening-i-absolutely-define-i-have-a/) [Frank Luntz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-luntz/) > [Usability methods are like sandpapering a chair. If you are making a chair, the sandpaper can make it smoother. But no amount of sandpaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cooper/usability-methods-are-like-sandpapering-a-chair-if-you-are-making-a/) [Alan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cooper/) > [Taylor Gang or masturbate with sandpaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-gang/taylor-gang-or-masturbate-with-sandpaper/) [Taylor Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-gang/) > [I've been charged with murder for killing a man with sandpaper. To be honest, I only intended to rough him up a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-ve-been-charged-with-murder-for-killing-a-man-with-sandpaper-to-be/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Her voice was as rough as sandpaper. As long as Blomkvist lived, he would never forget her face as she went on the attack.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/her-voice-was-as-rough-as-sandpaper-as-long-as-blomkvist-lived-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God went out of me as if the sea dried up like sandpaper, as if the sun became a latrine. God went out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/god-went-out-of-me-as-if-the-sea-dried-up-like-sandpaper-as-if-the/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“I have a rough marriage. It feels like sandpaper, only not as soft and gentle on the anus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-have-a-rough-marriage-it-feels-like-sandpaper-only-not-as-soft-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Good drama should sandpaper the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-alexander/good-drama-should-sandpaper-the-mind/) [Shana Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-alexander/) > [Sandpaper? You mean toilet paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/sandpaper-you-mean-toilet-paper/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Adults quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) K. Anders Ericsson > [Part of life is doing stuff that you don't want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named/part-of-life-is-doing-stuff-that-you-don-t-want-to-do/) One Who Does Not Wish To Be Named > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. 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As much as we like them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/when-i-was-a-child-at-sixteen-i-was-just-a-child-all-sixteen-year/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) [Browse all 3,113 Adults quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. 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