--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: stopped coming home for lunch. He just…" description: "\"“stopped coming home for lunch. He just stayed in his office”\" — Elizabeth Strout" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/elizabeth-strout-1799_coming-home_stopped-coming-home-for-lunch-he-just-st_1243192.png" --- # stopped coming home for lunch. He just stayed in his office ![“stopped coming home for lunch. He just stayed in his office” quote by Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/elizabeth-strout-1799_coming-home_stopped-coming-home-for-lunch-he-just-st_1243192.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/elizabeth-strout-1799_coming-home_stopped-coming-home-for-lunch-he-just-st_1243192.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/elizabeth-strout-1799_coming-home_stopped-coming-home-for-lunch-he-just-st_1243192.png) > ““stopped coming home for lunch. He just stayed in his office”” [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Isolation in work can replace personal relationships, leading to emotional neglect. **In simple terms:** Work can become a substitute for home life. Key Takeaway Balance professional duties with personal connections. Themes worklife balance loneliness relationships career emotional health Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type literary psychological When to use this quote - remote work - long hours - career advancement - family gatherings - mental health check‑ins Key Concepts psychology social isolation family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does work affect your personal relationships? - What boundaries protect emotional wellbeing? A Different Perspective Career pressures may cause burnout and loss of intimacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coming home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-home/) ## Related quotes > [“I had a few glasses of wine at lunch. just the little bottle Sutter Home 4-pack from the party store. Kept it light. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-welzein/i-had-a-few-glasses-of-wine-at-lunch-just-the-little-bottle-sutter/) Karl Welzein > [“were now not only affluent themselves but were also able to help family members-hut only so long as they stayed in office.'-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/were-now-not-only-affluent-themselves-but-were-also-able-to-help/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When I was 3, my father stopped coming home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rodman/when-i-was-3-my-father-stopped-coming-home/) [Dennis Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rodman/) > [My manners have always been the first thing to go when I get upset, and some people say that they stopped coming back a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-manners-have-always-been-the-first-thing-to-go-when-i-get-upset/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That night I didn’t say anything. I just watched you leave and in the end, I just stayed sleeping awake. Somewhere between a sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-drake/that-night-i-didn-t-say-anything-i-just-watched-you-leave-and-in-the/) [robert m drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-drake/) > [The thing is, I always thought I could do stand-up, and so I just stayed focused on the belief that I could succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/the-thing-is-i-always-thought-i-could-do-stand-up-and-so-i-just/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [I tried and gave it my all But u just stayed home and did nothing at all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-frick/i-tried-and-gave-it-my-all-but-u-just-stayed-home-and-did-nothing-at/) Theo Frick > [I just stayed true to what I've believed in, stayed true to who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-kamara/i-just-stayed-true-to-what-i-ve-believed-in-stayed-true-to-who-i-was/) [Alvin Kamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-kamara/) > [Yeah, I stayed. I stayed, because every time you threw a brick at my head, or said I smelled, it hurt; but it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po/yeah-i-stayed-i-stayed-because-every-time-you-threw-a-brick-at-my/) Po > [You never came home for lunch: you just stayed doing, playing, having fun, surfing, running round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-cilento/you-never-came-home-for-lunch-you-just-stayed-doing-playing-having/) [Diane Cilento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-cilento/) > [My friends went on gap years and I just stayed in London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-toffolo/my-friends-went-on-gap-years-and-i-just-stayed-in-london/) [Georgia Toffolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-toffolo/) > [I always tell Asian actors, especially Filipinos wanting to break into Hollywood, to study, study and study and show their best. I haven't stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-lee/i-always-tell-asian-actors-especially-filipinos-wanting-to-break-into/) [Reggie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-lee/) > [The moment I met you I stopped existing and started living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-moment-i-met-you-i-stopped-existing-and-started-living/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But for Ricky,Andrew,Mary & me the world stopped when those dogs entered the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-carlos-montalv-n/but-for-ricky-andrew-mary-me-the-world-stopped-when-those-dogs/) [Luis Carlos Montalván](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-carlos-montalv-n/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) ## More by Elizabeth Strout > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“what young people did not know. They did not know that lumpy, aged, and wrinkled bodies were as needy as their own young, firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/what-young-people-did-not-know-they-did-not-know-that-lumpy-aged-and/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“I said on the phone to my mother, “I think I’m going to write the story of the Burgess kids.” “It’s a good one,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-said-on-the-phone-to-my-mother-i-think-i-m-going-to-write-the-story/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“And she learned - freshly, scorchingly - of the privacy of sorrow. It was as though she had been escorted through a door into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/and-she-learned-freshly-scorchingly-of-the-privacy-of-sorrow-it-was/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“He looked at the books, and she wanted to say, 'Stop that,' as though he were reading her diary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/he-looked-at-the-books-and-she-wanted-to-say-stop-that-as-though-he/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“The year that followed - was it the happiest year of his own life? He often thought so, even knowing that such a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/the-year-that-followed-was-it-the-happiest-year-of-his-own-life-he/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I have to pay attention to what I have felt and observed, then push these responses to an extreme while keeping the story within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-have-to-pay-attention-to-what-i-have-felt-and-observed-then-push/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“She could hear in the darkness of her car how his breathing was quicker now; and her own was, too. She wanted to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/she-could-hear-in-the-darkness-of-her-car-how-his-breathing-was/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“Abdikarim shook his head in his darkened room, sweat coming from his face down onto his neck. “No, he cuts my heart. You didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/abdikarim-shook-his-head-in-his-darkened-room-sweat-coming-from-his/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“she’d have been throwing out clamshells, most likely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/she-d-have-been-throwing-out-clamshells-most-likely/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I like people a lot, but I am not comfortable in literary New York situations. There is deep anxiety and tension around success here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-like-people-a-lot-but-i-am-not-comfortable-in-literary-new-york/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [The fact of the matter is I always have a really high sense of responsibility to the reader, whether it's a few readers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-i-always-have-a-really-high-sense-of/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“Why do you need everyone married?" Christopher has said to him angrily, when Henry has asked about his son's life. "Why can't you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/why-do-you-need-everyone-married-christopher-has-said-to-him-angrily/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“one of those things about getting older was knowing that so many moments weren’t just moments, they were gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/one-of-those-things-about-getting-older-was-knowing-that-so-many/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I don't think of myself as a fast reader. I just read a lot. When someone else might think, 'I might do the dishes,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-fast-reader-i-just-read-a-lot-when/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) [Explore all 205 Elizabeth Strout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) ## More Coming home quotes > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [To be polite to everybody except the people they love most is a nervous affectation that afflicts many families ... when they come home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fishback/to-be-polite-to-everybody-except-the-people-they-love-most-is-a/) Margaret Fishback > [This is my idea of heaven, coming home and watching the news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/this-is-my-idea-of-heaven-coming-home-and-watching-the-news/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [“And when I look into his eyes there’s a feeling of something I can only describe as familiarity, a sense of safety. Like coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-james/and-when-i-look-into-his-eyes-there-s-a-feeling-of-something-i-can/) [Rebecca James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-james/) > [My greatest fear is coming home one day and discovering that the slim and sexy woman I married has become fat and shapeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-zee/my-greatest-fear-is-coming-home-one-day-and-discovering-that-the-slim/) [MO'Zee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-zee/) > [Seeing my children makes me come most alive. I come home and I see my kids' faces light up when they see me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-patrick/seeing-my-children-makes-me-come-most-alive-i-come-home-and-i-see-my/) [Richard Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-patrick/) > [I wouldn't just come home from school and watch TV everyday, they had me involved in lots of local theatre. I was a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/i-wouldn-t-just-come-home-from-school-and-watch-tv-everyday-they-had/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > [“Where we sail and anchor our heart fill up the multitude odyssey paving to the coming home of our soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/where-we-sail-and-anchor-our-heart-fill-up-the-multitude-odyssey/) [Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/) > [I can see you through any darkness. Your light it leads me on. I'm coming back to your orchard. Coming back to my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-wright/i-can-see-you-through-any-darkness-your-light-it-leads-me-on-i-m/) [Lizz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-wright/) > [Coming back to your calling. I can hear your voice say. Coming home for tomorrow from my dreams of yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-wright/coming-back-to-your-calling-i-can-hear-your-voice-say-coming-home-for/) [Lizz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-wright/) > [It all begins and ends in the same place, doesn't it? Conor and me in Ballyutogue. We all come home eventually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-uris/it-all-begins-and-ends-in-the-same-place-doesn-t-it-conor-and-me-in/) [Leon Uris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-uris/) > [“Yes, she’s coming home for a visit. No, I will not give you a free pass. You put one finger on her, I’ll beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/yes-she-s-coming-home-for-a-visit-no-i-will-not-give-you-a-free-pass/) [nalini singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [“I let it all out: the joy and the pain. The waiting and the wanting. The future and the past. We kiss for so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katia-rose/i-let-it-all-out-the-joy-and-the-pain-the-waiting-and-the-wanting-the/) Katia Rose [Browse all 1,175 Coming home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“stopped coming home for lunch. 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