--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother could never have said she loved…" description: "\"My mother could never have said she loved fall, but as she walked down the steps with her suitcase in hand toward the red Monte Carlo her husband had b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/dinaw-mengestu-12378_afternoon_my-mother-could-never-have-said-she-love_2726667.png" --- # My mother could never have said she loved fall, but as she… ![“My mother could never have said she loved fall, but as she walked down the steps with her suitcase in hand toward the red Monte Carlo her husband had been waiting in for nearly an hour, she could have said that she respected its place as a mediator between two extremes. Fall came and went, while…” quote by Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/dinaw-mengestu-12378_afternoon_my-mother-could-never-have-said-she-love_2726667.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/dinaw-mengestu-12378_afternoon_my-mother-could-never-have-said-she-love_2726667.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/dinaw-mengestu-12378_afternoon_my-mother-could-never-have-said-she-love_2726667.png) > “My mother could never have said she loved fall, but as she walked down the steps with her suitcase in hand toward the red Monte Carlo her husband had been waiting in for nearly an hour, she could have said that she respected its place as a mediator between two extremes. Fall came and went, while winter was endured and summer was revered. Fall was the repose that made both possible and bearable, and now here she was was with her husband next to her, heading headlong into an early-fall afternoon with only the vaguest ideas of who they were becoming and what came next.” [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on how autumn serves as a balancing season, mediating between the harshness of winter and the intensity of summer, symbolizing transitional moments in life and relationships. **In simple terms:** Fall is a calm bridge between extremes, making change bearable. Key Takeaway Embrace transitional periods as opportunities for growth. Themes seasons balance transition relationships growth Mood reflective nostalgic contemplative Type literary philosophical poetic When to use this quote - planning a move - relationship milestones - seasonal reflections - personal growth Key Concepts metaphor seasonal symbolism human experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you find balance during life’s transitions? - What seasons symbolize your personal changes? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overlook individual differences in how people experience seasons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) ## Related quotes > [That strain again! It had a dying fall: O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound That breathes upon a bank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/that-strain-again-it-had-a-dying-fall-o-it-came-o-er-my-ear-like-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The evening sky was streaked with purple, the color of torn plums, and a light rain had started to fall when I came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-evening-sky-was-streaked-with-purple-the-color-of-torn-plums-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When fall came and your leaves fell, they would blow away, but you would remain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-trottier/when-fall-came-and-your-leaves-fell-they-would-blow-away-but-you/) Maxine Trottier > [“Like leaves in an autumn from hell, I saw the people I loved fall off the tree of life one by one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zohreh-ghahremani/like-leaves-in-an-autumn-from-hell-i-saw-the-people-i-loved-fall-off/) [Zohreh Ghahremani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zohreh-ghahremani/) > [And I think about summer, all the beautiful times, I watched you laughing from the passenger side. Realized that I loved you in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/me-writes/and-i-think-about-summer-all-the-beautiful-times-i-watched-you/) Me\_Writes > [I loved to fall down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-van-dyke/i-loved-to-fall-down/) [Dick Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-van-dyke/) > [I loved The Fall; I was kind of obsessed with that show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/i-loved-the-fall-i-was-kind-of-obsessed-with-that-show/) [Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/) > [I started beach football in Monte Carlo when I retired from football in 1997. I liked the game very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantona/i-started-beach-football-in-monte-carlo-when-i-retired-from-football/) [Eric Cantona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantona/) > [“You have blotted out the past for me, far more effectively than all the bright lights of Monte Carlo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-have-blotted-out-the-past-for-me-far-more-effectively-than-all/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“She seemed out of place at the Fairweather. Too posh, as Susan said. Too well dressed. She never strolled along the shore or went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivien-alcock/she-seemed-out-of-place-at-the-fairweather-too-posh-as-susan-said-too/) [Vivien Alcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivien-alcock/) > [The best I ever felt on the red carpet was at an awards show in Monte Carlo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/the-best-i-ever-felt-on-the-red-carpet-was-at-an-awards-show-in-monte/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [The Monte Carlo casino refused to admit me until I was properly dressed so I went and found my stockings, and then came back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-monte-carlo-casino-refused-to-admit-me-until-i-was-properly/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [At 19 I left school and embarked on a 9-day bike ride with friends from London to Monte Carlo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fogle/at-19-i-left-school-and-embarked-on-a-9-day-bike-ride-with-friends/) [Ben Fogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fogle/) > [When his phone rang, he had to dig through his pocket to find it, and his fingers brushed against a pair of tiny earbuds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/when-his-phone-rang-he-had-to-dig-through-his-pocket-to-find-it-and/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [I am deeply honored that my team is being recognized by H.S.H. Prince Albert II and the Festival de Television de Monte-Carlo for Disney/ABC's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sweeney/i-am-deeply-honored-that-my-team-is-being-recognized-by-h-s-h-prince/) [Anne Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sweeney/) ## More by Dinaw Mengestu > [You see, at the beginning we weren't fighters. We weren't yellers or throwers, even if we eventually came to be. It would take time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/you-see-at-the-beginning-we-weren-t-fighters-we-weren-t-yellers-or/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [I told my parents I was going to be a doctor and then a lawyer, but I never believed it and never tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-told-my-parents-i-was-going-to-be-a-doctor-and-then-a-lawyer-but-i/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“You will never disappear," I said. "Even if it may feel like you have at some point. We're going to remain a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/you-will-never-disappear-i-said-even-if-it-may-feel-like-you-have-at/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [The fact that I have always been deeply invested in politics, and African politics in particular, inevitably played a role in my first novel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/the-fact-that-i-have-always-been-deeply-invested-in-politics-and/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Writers, especially those of us with roots in other countries, are rarely left to ourselves. We are asked to declare our allegiances, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/writers-especially-those-of-us-with-roots-in-other-countries-are/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Personally, its a comfort and happiness to know that my work is taken seriously and is not marginalised and put in a box of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/personally-its-a-comfort-and-happiness-to-know-that-my-work-is-taken/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“If the last thing a man has to hold on to is his sense of pride and accompanying dignity, then more likely than not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/if-the-last-thing-a-man-has-to-hold-on-to-is-his-sense-of-pride-and/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“Have you seen a hungry man with a gun? Of course not. Such things don't exist. It's like saying, have you ever seen a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/have-you-seen-a-hungry-man-with-a-gun-of-course-not-such-things-don-t/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [There are those who wake up each morning to conquer the day, and then there are those of us who wake up only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/there-are-those-who-wake-up-each-morning-to-conquer-the-day-and-then/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“She always thought Americans were too territorial. 'All those fences and flags,' she had once said, seeing very little difference between the two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/she-always-thought-americans-were-too-territorial-all-those-fences/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Ethnic divisions can definitely be exacerbated by a lack of natural resources, but those tensions become violent when people manipulate them for their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/ethnic-divisions-can-definitely-be-exacerbated-by-a-lack-of-natural/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“I remember another aphorism of my father's, one that he used to say whenever we passed someone pissing openly in the street: add color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-remember-another-aphorism-of-my-father-s-one-that-he-used-to-say/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“Through them, the story becomes an argument for a better way of seeing, which has always struck me as being one of the novel’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/through-them-the-story-becomes-an-argument-for-a-better-way-of-seeing/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Obviously, in marketing, the best tool is to show the autobiography in fiction. It's inevitable how that happens, but it's generic. Say I've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/obviously-in-marketing-the-best-tool-is-to-show-the-autobiography-in/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [I had lost too much of the heart and all the faith needed to stay afloat in a job where every human encounter felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-had-lost-too-much-of-the-heart-and-all-the-faith-needed-to-stay/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) [Explore all 54 Dinaw Mengestu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) Ban Johnson > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My mother could never have said she loved fall, but as she walked down the steps with her suitcase in hand toward the red Monte Carlo her husband had been waiting in for nearly an hour, she could have said that she respected its place as a mediator between two extremes. Fall came and went, while winter was endured and summer was revered. 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