--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's come at last,\" she thought, \"the…" description: "\"It's come at last,\" she thought, \"the time when you can no longer stand between your children and heartache. When there wasn't enough food in the house..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/betty-smith-1012_bed_it-s-come-at-last-she-thought-the-time-w_2871375.png" --- # It's come at last," she thought, "the time when you can no… ![“It's come at last," she thought, "the time when you can no longer stand between your children and heartache. When there wasn't enough food in the house you pretended that you weren't hungry so they could have more. In the cold of a winter's night you got up and put your blanket on their bed so…” quote by Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/betty-smith-1012_bed_it-s-come-at-last-she-thought-the-time-w_2871375.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/betty-smith-1012_bed_it-s-come-at-last-she-thought-the-time-w_2871375.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/betty-smith-1012_bed_it-s-come-at-last-she-thought-the-time-w_2871375.png) > “It's come at last," she thought, "the time when you can no longer stand between your children and heartache. When there wasn't enough food in the house you pretended that you weren't hungry so they could have more. In the cold of a winter's night you got up and put your blanket on their bed so they wouldn't be cold. You'd kill anyone who tried to harm them - I tried my best to kill that man in the hallway. Then one sunny day, they walk out in all innocence and they walk right into the grief that you'd give your life to spare them from.” [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mother sacrifices everything, protecting her children from hardship and emotional pain. **In simple terms:** Mother’s love drives self‑sacrifice. Key Takeaway Prioritize loved ones’ needs. Themes parenthood self‑sacrifice poverty Mood empathetic melancholic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - family crises - financial strain - protective actions Key Concepts maternal instinct sacrifice emotional labor Questions to Reflect On - How far should one go for family? - What boundaries protect caregivers? A Different Perspective Idealizing sacrifice can overlook personal limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Blanket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blanket/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Heartache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-heartache-3930503/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Hallways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallways/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Heartache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartache/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Hungry Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry-cold-712987/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Right Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-grief-3930504/) [Sunny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunny/) [Sunny day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunny-day/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tried My Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tried-my-best/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) [Weren Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weren-hungry-3930505/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) [Your children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-children/) ## Related quotes > [It's come at last", she thought, "the time when you can no longer stand between your children and heartache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/it-s-come-at-last-she-thought-the-time-when-you-can-no-longer-stand/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [What have you done to my cat?" Magnus demanded... "You drank his blood, didn't you? You said you weren't hungry!" Simon was indignant. "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/what-have-you-done-to-my-cat-magnus-demanded-you-drank-his-blood-didn/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Lil children: headache Big children: heartache…!!!!! :D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooja/lil-children-headache-big-children-heartache-d/) [Pooja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooja/) > [Children can be your heartache. But that doesn't matter, you have to go on and have them . . . it works out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/children-can-be-your-heartache-but-that-doesn-t-matter-you-have-to-go/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [For months it hasn't known the taste of steel Washed down with rusty water in a tin. But standing outdoors hungry, in the cold,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/for-months-it-hasn-t-known-the-taste-of-steel-washed-down-with-rusty/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [A lot of women ask themselves why they should bring a child into the world? So that it will be hungry, so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/a-lot-of-women-ask-themselves-why-they-should-bring-a-child-into-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [We are the angry and the desperate, the hungry, and the cold, we are the ones who kept quiet and always did what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rise-against/we-are-the-angry-and-the-desperate-the-hungry-and-the-cold-we-are-the/) [Rise Against](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rise-against/) > [“And death doesn't wait for you when your rested and ready. It sneaks up on you when your exhausted and hungry and cold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lili-st-crow/and-death-doesn-t-wait-for-you-when-your-rested-and-ready-it-sneaks/) [Lili St. Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lili-st-crow/) > [... In our family, if you said the words 'I feel,' they better be followed with 'hungry' or 'cold'. Because we didn't get personal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-murray/in-our-family-if-you-said-the-words-i-feel-they-better-be-followed/) [Liz Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-murray/) > [Some field days can be tough. I've worked inside fuel tanks with 3 foot ceilings, in -42 to +42 Celsius temperatures, in snow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mason/some-field-days-can-be-tough-i-ve-worked-inside-fuel-tanks-with-3/) [Mark Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mason/) > [Adrenaline kicks you in when you’re starving. That’s what nobody understands. Except for being hungry and cold, most of the time I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/adrenaline-kicks-you-in-when-you-re-starving-that-s-what-nobody/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Nobody who gets enough food and clothing in a world where most are hungry and cold has any business to talk about 'misery.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/nobody-who-gets-enough-food-and-clothing-in-a-world-where-most-are/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Babies act out when they're hungry, cold, tired. They do this for survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilu-henner/babies-act-out-when-they-re-hungry-cold-tired-they-do-this-for/) [Marilu Henner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilu-henner/) > [Great things come out of being hungry and cold. Once you're pampered, you get lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/great-things-come-out-of-being-hungry-and-cold-once-you-re-pampered/) [Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/) > [But you just said you loved me." "I do, Mer. That's the point. I can't make you like me. I can't stand the thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/but-you-just-said-you-loved-me-i-do-mer-that-s-the-point-i-can-t-make/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) ## More by Betty Smith > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [As long as one can suffer, one is living…live and suffer until life is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/as-long-as-one-can-suffer-one-is-living-live-and-suffer-until-life-is/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Sissy told them they were way behind the times; that midwives were things of the past. Besides, she informed them proudly, she had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/sissy-told-them-they-were-way-behind-the-times-that-midwives-were/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Why, Mrs McGarrity's all right. Mr McGarrity's all right, too. Only I guess they aren't all right to each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/why-mrs-mcgarrity-s-all-right-mr-mcgarrity-s-all-right-too-only-i/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“I drink because I don't stand a chance and I know it. I couldn't drive a truck and I couldn't get on the cops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/i-drink-because-i-don-t-stand-a-chance-and-i-know-it-i-couldn-t-drive/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Pipe dreams, he thought to himself, even while he was telling her about his dream winnings. But oh, how wonderful, he thought, if everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/pipe-dreams-he-thought-to-himself-even-while-he-was-telling-her-about/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/who-wants-to-die-everything-struggles-to-live-look-at-that-tree/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [It takes a lot of doing to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/it-takes-a-lot-of-doing-to-die/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“She sat in the sunshine watching the life on the street and guarding within herself, her own mystery of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/she-sat-in-the-sunshine-watching-the-life-on-the-street-and-guarding/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [...the reading, the observing, the living from day to day. It was something that had been born into her and her only - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-reading-the-observing-the-living-from-day-to-day-it-was-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [People always think that happiness is a faraway thing … something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/people-always-think-that-happiness-is-a-faraway-thing-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Hildy O’Dair is old for her age,” she thought. “It’s like powder was sprinkled on her yellow hair. But she’s not much older than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/hildy-o-dair-is-old-for-her-age-she-thought-it-s-like-powder-was/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“One day they’re babies in buggies and the next day they’re in here taking picks. Kids grow up quick in this neighborhood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/one-day-they-re-babies-in-buggies-and-the-next-day-they-re-in-here/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“If she never had any lovers, she kicks herself around when the change comes, thinking of all the fun she could have had, didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/if-she-never-had-any-lovers-she-kicks-herself-around-when-the-change/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) [Explore all 306 Betty Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [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/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I always wanted to be a movie star. I thought it meant being famous and having breakfast in bed. I didn't know you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-allyson/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-movie-star-i-thought-it-meant-being-famous/) [June Allyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-allyson/) [Browse all 4,159 Bed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's come at last,\" she thought, \"the time when you can no longer stand between your children and heartache. When there wasn't enough food in the house you pretended that you weren't hungry so they could have more. In the cold of a winter's night you got up and put your blanket on their bed so they wouldn't be cold. You'd kill anyone who tried to harm them - I tried my best to kill that man in the hallway. 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