--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I asked if she’d ever wanted children…" description: "\"“I asked if she’d ever wanted children. She told me, “Everybody doesn’t get everything.” It sounded depressing to me at the time, a statement of defeat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/ariel-levy-7405_children_i-asked-if-she-d-ever-wanted-children-sh_1744994.jpg" --- # I asked if she’d ever wanted children. She told me… ![“I asked if she’d ever wanted children. She told me, “Everybody doesn’t get everything.” It sounded depressing to me at the time, a statement of defeat. Now admitting it seems like the obvious and essential work of growing up. Everybody doesn’t get everything: as natural and unavoidable as mortality.” quote by Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/ariel-levy-7405_children_i-asked-if-she-d-ever-wanted-children-sh_1744994.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/ariel-levy-7405_children_i-asked-if-she-d-ever-wanted-children-sh_1744994.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/ariel-levy-7405_children_i-asked-if-she-d-ever-wanted-children-sh_1744994.jpg) > ““I asked if she’d ever wanted children. She told me, “Everybody doesn’t get everything.” It sounded depressing to me at the time, a statement of defeat. Now admitting it seems like the obvious and essential work of growing up. Everybody doesn’t get everything: as natural and unavoidable as mortality.”” [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on accepting life's limitations, recognizing that not everyone can have everything, and seeing this acceptance as essential maturity. **In simple terms:** Not everything is attainable; accept it. Key Takeaway Embrace realistic expectations. Themes growth acceptance realism Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - career planning - family decisions - personal development - philosophical contemplation Key Concepts mortality inevitability expectations Questions to Reflect On - What does "everything" mean to you? - How does acceptance shape your goals? A Different Perspective Denial can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“She told me, "Everybody doesn't get everything." 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I told everybody on the radio that this was my last program.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-williams/somebody-got-the-idea-nobody-didn-t-listen-to-my-kind-a-music-i-told/) [Hank Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-williams/) > [I told everybody since the second I've been in the league that I've been very success-driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-kelce/i-told-everybody-since-the-second-i-ve-been-in-the-league-that-i-ve/) [Travis Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-kelce/) > [I've always told everybody that hits behind me, swing at whatever you want because if you hit the ball in the gap, I'll score.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trea-turner/i-ve-always-told-everybody-that-hits-behind-me-swing-at-whatever-you/) [Trea Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trea-turner/) > [I told everybody that I was going to be an actress in Hollywood one day. People looked at me like I was crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-garces/i-told-everybody-that-i-was-going-to-be-an-actress-in-hollywood-one/) [Paula Garces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-garces/) ## More by Ariel Levy > [This thinking that you can have every single thing you want in life is not the thinking of a feminist. It's the thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/this-thinking-that-you-can-have-every-single-thing-you-want-in-life/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [No one could save me from the grief of losing my child or losing my first marriage. I had to do that on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/no-one-could-save-me-from-the-grief-of-losing-my-child-or-losing-my/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“chest—I could hear him denigrating Obama at the top of his lungs, which seemed to make Mary only slightly less uncomfortable than it made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/chest-i-could-hear-him-denigrating-obama-at-the-top-of-his-lungs/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“A real editor isn't just someone you work with; he's your guide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/a-real-editor-isn-t-just-someone-you-work-with-he-s-your-guide/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Death comes for us. You may get ten minutes on this earth or you may get eighty years but nobody gets out alive. 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I never disagreed with anything that I was brought up with, in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/i-haven-t-really-rebelled-i-just-think-my-parents-were-right-i-never/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Sex is one of the most interesting things we as humans have to play with, and we've reduced it to polyester underpants and implants.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/sex-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-things-we-as-humans-have-to-play/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) [Explore all 91 Ariel Levy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) ## More Children 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/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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