--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think…\" She lifts her head from his…" description: "\"“I think…\" She lifts her head from his shoulder. \"I think that you have it in you to be a fine young man. Exceptional even. I have always thought that...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-nicholls-873_mothers_i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shou_1462519.jpg" --- # I think…" She lifts her head from his shoulder. "I think… ![“I think…" She lifts her head from his shoulder. "I think that you have it in you to be a fine young man. Exceptional even. I have always thought that. Mothers are supposed to, aren't they? I don't think you're there yet. Not yet. I think you've got some way to go. That's all." "I see." "You…” quote by David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-nicholls-873_mothers_i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shou_1462519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-nicholls-873_mothers_i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shou_1462519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-nicholls-873_mothers_i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shou_1462519.jpg) > ““I think…" She lifts her head from his shoulder. "I think that you have it in you to be a fine young man. Exceptional even. I have always thought that. Mothers are supposed to, aren't they? I don't think you're there yet. Not yet. I think you've got some way to go. That's all." "I see." "You mustn't take this badly, but sometimes…" She takes his hands in hers, rubbing the palm of it with her thumb. "Sometimes I worry that you're not very nice anymore." They sit there for a while until eventually he says, "There's nothing I can say to that." "There's nothing that you have to say." "Are you angry with me?" "A little. But then I'm angry with pretty much everyone these days. Everyone who isn't sick.”” [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## 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 doubts her son's moral direction, expressing concern and affection. **In simple terms:** Mother worries about son's behavior. Key Takeaway Offer guidance with empathy. Themes parenting concern growth self‑doubt Mood thoughtful concerned Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - parent‑child talks - self‑reflection - adolescent challenges Key Concepts moral development family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How to balance guidance and independence? - What signs show genuine growth? 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Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-r-black/) > [I think I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, but I think that's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cage/i-think-i-have-a-little-bit-of-a-chip-on-my-shoulder-but-i-think-that/) [Christian Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cage/) > [Mothers are supposed to listen and, afterward, to respond with some wisdom and perspective, but these things were not my mother's strong suit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/mothers-are-supposed-to-listen-and-afterward-to-respond-with-some/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Mothers are supposed to be their children's biggest cheerleaders. Mothers are supposed to believe in their children, no matter what. Mothers will lie to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/mothers-are-supposed-to-be-their-children-s-biggest-cheerleaders/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Mothers are not supposed to give guidance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/mothers-are-not-supposed-to-give-guidance/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) ## More by David Nicholls > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. 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What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [She was reaching the limits of how much its possible to change a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-reaching-the-limits-of-how-much-its-possible-to-change-a-man/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“How would she fill the days? She had no idea. The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/how-would-she-fill-the-days-she-had-no-idea-the-trick-of-it-she-told/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-if-it-rained-or-you-felt-a-bit-glandy-it-just-wasn-t-practical/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Sometimes, when it is going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/sometimes-when-it-is-going-badly-she-wonders-if-what-she-believes-to/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [The city had defeated her, just like they said it would. Like some overcrowded party, no one had noticed her arrival, and would notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-city-had-defeated-her-just-like-they-said-it-would-like-some/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. 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The casting, the choice of location, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/a-screenplay-is-really-an-instruction-manual-and-it-can-be/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Most of the books and films I love walk a knife edge between romance and cynicism, and I wanted 'One Day' to stay on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/most-of-the-books-and-films-i-love-walk-a-knife-edge-between-romance/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Explore all 332 David Nicholls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More Mothers quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“Time plays tricks on mothers. 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Exceptional even. I have always thought that. Mothers are supposed to, aren't they? I don't think you're there yet. Not yet. I think you've got some way to go. That's all.\" \"I see.\" \"You mustn't take this badly, but sometimes…\" She takes his hands in hers, rubbing the palm of it with her thumb. \"Sometimes I worry that you're not very nice anymore.\" They sit there for a while until eventually he says, \"There's nothing I can say to that.\" \"There's nothing that you have to say.\" \"Are you angry with me?\" \"A little. But then I'm angry with pretty much everyone these days. Everyone who isn't sick.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Nicholls" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shoulder-i-think-that-you-have-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mothers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shoulder-i-think-that-you-have-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-nicholls-873_mothers_i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shou_1462519.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-nicholls-873_mothers_i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shou_1462519.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-nicholls-873_mothers_i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shou_1462519.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think…\" She lifts her head from his shoulder. \"I think that you have it in you to be a fine young man…” — David Nicholls", "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": "David Nicholls", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I think…\" She lifts her head...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shoulder-i-think-that-you-have-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-think-she-lifts-her-head-from-his-shoulder-i-think-that-you-have-it/#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 } } ] } ```