--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During all the months when she had been…" description: "\"“During all the months when she had been absent, there were so many things I have saved up to tell her, so many bits of news about the house and the ne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/793/anne-tyler-1837_absent_during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been_407109.png" --- # During all the months when she had been absent, there were… ![“During all the months when she had been absent, there were so many things I have saved up to tell her, so many bits of news about the house and the neighborhood and friends and work and family, but now they seemed inconsequential. Puny. Move far enough away from an event ans it sort of levels out…” quote by Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/793/anne-tyler-1837_absent_during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been_407109.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/793/anne-tyler-1837_absent_during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been_407109.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/793/anne-tyler-1837_absent_during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been_407109.png) > ““During all the months when she had been absent, there were so many things I have saved up to tell her, so many bits of news about the house and the neighborhood and friends and work and family, but now they seemed inconsequential. Puny. Move far enough away from an event ans it sort of levels out, so to speak - settles into the general landscape.”” [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Distance creates emotional detachment, making once‑important details feel trivial. **In simple terms:** Being far away lessens the impact of personal news. Key Takeaway Recognize how distance reshapes perspective. Themes distance detachment memory perspective Mood reflective melancholic Type narrative observational When to use this quote - moving away - long‑distance relationships - reconnecting after absence Key Concepts psychology emotional regulation social distance Questions to Reflect On - How does distance change your view of personal events? - Can you stay emotionally connected despite distance? A Different Perspective Physical distance does not erase emotional bonds; it may mask them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent/) [Absent Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent-things-2784991/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Friends And Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-and-work-216750/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Months Absent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months-absent-3638309/) [Saved Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saved-tell-3638310/) [Things Saved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-saved-1325708/) [Work And Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-and-family/) ## Related quotes > [No sovereign, no court, no personal loyalty, no aristocracy, no church, no clergy, no army, no diplomatic service, no country gentlemen, no palaces, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/no-sovereign-no-court-no-personal-loyalty-no-aristocracy-no-church-no/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I have to thank my dad so much. He gives the best advice. I dont know what I would do without him. Things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-to-thank-my-dad-so-much-he-gives-the-best-advice-i-dont-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God has blessed me with an amazing family, friends and work colleagues that have been my joy, my support, and my sanity. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/god-has-blessed-me-with-an-amazing-family-friends-and-work-colleagues/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [I basically sat around unemployed in Sydney for three years straight, and the two things that saved me were the rugby league and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mendelsohn/i-basically-sat-around-unemployed-in-sydney-for-three-years-straight/) [Ben Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mendelsohn/) > [I think one of the things that saved me is that I never put all my eggs in one basket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-schroder/i-think-one-of-the-things-that-saved-me-is-that-i-never-put-all-my/) [Ricky Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-schroder/) > [“At this point I don’t want to mix music and computers. Just like it’s not good to mix friends and work, and sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/at-this-point-i-don-t-want-to-mix-music-and-computers-just-like-it-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I don’t want to mix music and computers. Just like it’s not good to mix friends and work, and sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-don-t-want-to-mix-music-and-computers-just-like-it-s-not-good-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [My mother and Ethel Kennedy became good friends and worked together on a number of causes they had shared with their husbands. They together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/my-mother-and-ethel-kennedy-became-good-friends-and-worked-together/) [Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/) > [“Now he would never write the things that he had saved to write until he knew enough to write them well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/now-he-would-never-write-the-things-that-he-had-saved-to-write-until/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“This sense of 'place' -- that there was nothing to be wanted from material things, nothing to be saved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/this-sense-of-place-that-there-was-nothing-to-be-wanted-from-material/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“She shook her head. “I swear, Roberts, the more I learn about your gender, the more I think a sperm donor, a good handyman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/she-shook-her-head-i-swear-roberts-the-more-i-learn-about-your-gender/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [“Not all things can be saved,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-bailey/not-all-things-can-be-saved/) [Julius Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-bailey/) > [“People sometimes ask what it’s like to be a surgeon who works with the living human brain each day. I think sometimes it’s like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-black/people-sometimes-ask-what-it-s-like-to-be-a-surgeon-who-works-with/) [Peter Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-black/) > [You don't go from being friends and work colleagues, working in a close environment, to then not speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-page/you-don-t-go-from-being-friends-and-work-colleagues-working-in-a/) [Rob Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-page/) > [I get a lot of e-mail messages from people who say thanks for giving them a place to vent, an outlet to say what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-poole/i-get-a-lot-of-e-mail-messages-from-people-who-say-thanks-for-giving/) [Christopher Poole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-poole/) ## More by Anne Tyler > [Try Jesus, you won't regret it, a billboard read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/try-jesus-you-won-t-regret-it-a-billboard-read/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“Every place I go I miss another place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/every-place-i-go-i-miss-another-place/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [I'm falling into disrepair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/i-m-falling-into-disrepair/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. However, the stages of my life - motherhood, middle age, etc. -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/none-of-my-own-experiences-ever-finds-its-way-into-my-work-however/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [For my own family, I would always choose the makeshift, surrogate family formed by various characters unrelated by blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/for-my-own-family-i-would-always-choose-the-makeshift-surrogate/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [Mostly it's lies, writing novels. You set out to tell an untrue story and you try to make it believable, even to yourself. Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/mostly-it-s-lies-writing-novels-you-set-out-to-tell-an-untrue-story/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [When I read, I'm purely a reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/when-i-read-i-m-purely-a-reader/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“You wake in the morning, you’re feeling fine, but all at once you think, “Something’s not right. Something’s off somewhere; what is it?” And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/you-wake-in-the-morning-you-re-feeling-fine-but-all-at-once-you-think/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“...that was Julian for you: reckless. A dashing sailor, a speedy driver, a frequenter of single bars, he was the kind of man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/that-was-julian-for-you-reckless-a-dashing-sailor-a-speedy-driver-a/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“Disaster followed disaster... the hero stuck in there, though. Macon had long ago noticed that all adventure movies had the same moral: Perseverance pays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/disaster-followed-disaster-the-hero-stuck-in-there-though-macon-had/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-with-other-human-beings-was-an/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“Justine hated pantsuits. Whenever she saw one, she had an urge to tell the owner some scandalous fortune, loudly enough to be heard everywhere:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/justine-hated-pantsuits-whenever-she-saw-one-she-had-an-urge-to-tell/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [My family can always tell when I'm well into a novel because the meals get very crummy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/my-family-can-always-tell-when-i-m-well-into-a-novel-because-the/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“She liked to think that she was wearing her beauty out—using it up, she liked to think. She took some satisfaction in it, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/she-liked-to-think-that-she-was-wearing-her-beauty-out-using-it-up/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [It is not how much you love someone, but who you are when you are with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/it-is-not-how-much-you-love-someone-but-who-you-are-when-you-are-with/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) [Explore all 202 Anne Tyler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) ## More Absent quotes > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [The interesting thing about an absent father is, for a child, you don't know he's absent. You just think he's... tardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-majors/the-interesting-thing-about-an-absent-father-is-for-a-child-you-don-t/) [Jonathan Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-majors/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [... if we are ashamed to imitate our Lord's sufferings, which He endured for us, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/symeon-the-new-theologian/if-we-are-ashamed-to-imitate-our-lord-s-sufferings-which-he-endured/) [Symeon the New Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/symeon-the-new-theologian/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/anger-clearly-has-its-proper-place-at-work-which-is-neither-wholly/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [A FRIEND IS A PERSON . . . With whom you can be sincere. . . . To whom you never need to defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-armand-montapert/a-friend-is-a-person-with-whom-you-can-be-sincere-to-whom-you-never/) [Alfred Armand Montapert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-armand-montapert/) > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) [Browse all 490 Absent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“During all the months when she had been absent, there were so many things I have saved up to tell her, so many bits of news about the house and the neighborhood and friends and work and family, but now they seemed inconsequential. Puny. Move far enough away from an event ans it sort of levels out, so to speak - settles into the general landscape.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Tyler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been-absent-there-were-so-many/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been-absent-there-were-so-many/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/793/anne-tyler-1837_absent_during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been_407109.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/793/anne-tyler-1837_absent_during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been_407109.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/793/anne-tyler-1837_absent_during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been_407109.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“During all the months when she had been absent, there were so many things I have saved up to tell her, so…” — Anne Tyler", "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": "Anne Tyler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“During all the months when she...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been-absent-there-were-so-many/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/during-all-the-months-when-she-had-been-absent-there-were-so-many/#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 } } ] } ```