--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a way, looking back, it seemed a long…" description: "\"“In a way, looking back, it seemed a long, long time since she had been eighteen, but in another way her memories were so clear and vivid that it seeme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80a/helen-hooven-santmyer-46067_long-time_in-a-way-looking-back-it-seemed-a-long-l_2717160.jpg" --- # In a way, looking back, it seemed a long, long time since… ![“In a way, looking back, it seemed a long, long time since she had been eighteen, but in another way her memories were so clear and vivid that it seemed like yesterday. Time was an accordion, all the air squeezed out of it as you grew old. And how strange that in your mind you did not feel any…” quote by Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80a/helen-hooven-santmyer-46067_long-time_in-a-way-looking-back-it-seemed-a-long-l_2717160.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80a/helen-hooven-santmyer-46067_long-time_in-a-way-looking-back-it-seemed-a-long-l_2717160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80a/helen-hooven-santmyer-46067_long-time_in-a-way-looking-back-it-seemed-a-long-l_2717160.jpg) > ““In a way, looking back, it seemed a long, long time since she had been eighteen, but in another way her memories were so clear and vivid that it seemed like yesterday. Time was an accordion, all the air squeezed out of it as you grew old. And how strange that in your mind you did not feel any older. You were the same person, but where had the years gone?”” [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory feels vivid and recent despite age, showing time's subjective nature. **In simple terms:** Memories can feel timeless. Key Takeaway Cherish present moments. Themes memory time subjectivity Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - elder care - storytelling - personal reflection Key Concepts Psychology of memory aging Questions to Reflect On - How does perception shape aging? - What makes memories vivid? A Different Perspective Memory can be unreliable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Time was\] an accordion, all the air squeezed out of it as you grew old. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/time-was-an-accordion-all-the-air-squeezed-out-of-it-as-you-grew-old/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) > [If memories were indeed like what a camera records, they could be forgotten, or they could fade so that they are no longer clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/if-memories-were-indeed-like-what-a-camera-records-they-could-be/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Some of the memories were not clear---dim human memories, seen through weak eyes and heard through weak ears: the first time I'd seen his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/some-of-the-memories-were-not-clear-dim-human-memories-seen-through/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [This is how memories are; what seems so clear and unforgettable at one moment vanishes like steam the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moran/this-is-how-memories-are-what-seems-so-clear-and-unforgettable-at-one/) [Michelle Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moran/) > [We thrust our fingers into our ears to stop its moan; but it was no good; the cry cut like a drill into our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-toller/we-thrust-our-fingers-into-our-ears-to-stop-its-moan-but-it-was-no/) [Ernst Toller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-toller/) > [My dad was a wrestler, so I grew up old school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dibiase-sr/my-dad-was-a-wrestler-so-i-grew-up-old-school/) [Ted DiBiase Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dibiase-sr/) > [In my opinion, everybody is getting older and older. We have a great deal of dementia because nobody grew old enough to get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/in-my-opinion-everybody-is-getting-older-and-older-we-have-a-great/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I used to go outside every day and invent these elaborate worlds and scenarios in my head, and when I grew too old for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-used-to-go-outside-every-day-and-invent-these-elaborate-worlds-and/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“These new movements, of course, grew out of the old ones and tended to keep their names and pay lip-service to their ideology. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/these-new-movements-of-course-grew-out-of-the-old-ones-and-tended-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Then the earth grew old, its landscapes mellowing and showing signs of age, its ways becoming whimsical and strange in the manner of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/then-the-earth-grew-old-its-landscapes-mellowing-and-showing-signs-of/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [Cats were the gangsters of the animal world, living outside the law and often dying there. There were a great many of them who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/cats-were-the-gangsters-of-the-animal-world-living-outside-the-law/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-grew-old-first-not-in-your-own-eyes-but-in-other-people-s-eyes/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Your enemies call it comeuppance and relish the details of a drug too fine, how long you must have dangled there beside yourself. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-barresi/your-enemies-call-it-comeuppance-and-relish-the-details-of-a-drug-too/) Dorothy Barresi > [“In the beginning the stories were long and colored, but as he grew old and his eyes clouded, the stories were told in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-dexter/in-the-beginning-the-stories-were-long-and-colored-but-as-he-grew-old/) [Pete Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-dexter/) > [“O how incomprehensible everything was, and actually sad, although it was also beautiful. One knew nothing. One lived and ran about the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/o-how-incomprehensible-everything-was-and-actually-sad-although-it/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) ## More by Helen Hooven Santmyer > [Time--our youth--it never really goes, does it? It is all held in our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/time-our-youth-it-never-really-goes-does-it-it-is-all-held-in-our/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) > [I have no plans for the money but it'll be awfully nice to have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/i-have-no-plans-for-the-money-but-it-ll-be-awfully-nice-to-have-it/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) > [But surely, if you trust God, you can believe the bad moments pass, and the good memories are worth enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/but-surely-if-you-trust-god-you-can-believe-the-bad-moments-pass-and/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) > [“When we get presidents with brains it's purely by accident. Who was ever selected for his brains? We choose them for other qualities, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/when-we-get-presidents-with-brains-it-s-purely-by-accident-who-was/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) > [ \[Time was\] an accordion, all the air squeezed out of it as you grew old. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/time-was-an-accordion-all-the-air-squeezed-out-of-it-as-you-grew-old/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) > [“She was moved to a profound but pleasurable melancholy by the evidence that human life is brief and long survived by the material things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/she-was-moved-to-a-profound-but-pleasurable-melancholy-by-the/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) > [“But Calvinists have never been pacifists: they have always been all too ready for a fight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hooven-santmyer/but-calvinists-have-never-been-pacifists-they-have-always-been-all/) [Helen Hooven Santmyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) [Explore all 8 Helen Hooven Santmyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hooven-santmyer/) ## More Long time quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. 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"The same thing you do when you don't have forever."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/forever-is-a-really-long-time-you-know-what-do-you-do-with-forever/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. Conway > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. 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They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [“For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep, cold water, swimming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/for-a-long-time-before-i-met-you-i-felt-my-life-was-this-kind-of-test/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [“If you go to bed too early and get up too late you probably won't sleep especially well. This could show up as either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-a-lewis/if-you-go-to-bed-too-early-and-get-up-too-late-you-probably-won-t/) [Penelope A. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-a-lewis/) > [I have been famous for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-beatty/i-have-been-famous-for-a-long-time/) [Warren Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-beatty/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) Browse all 9,064 Long time quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In a way, looking back, it seemed a long, long time since she had been eighteen, but in another way her memories were so clear and vivid that it seemed like yesterday. Time was an accordion, all the air squeezed out of it as you grew old. And how strange that in your mind you did not feel any older. 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