--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't remember a time when I wasn't…" description: "\"I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to figure out what to say at the dinner table.\" — Leslie Jamison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/leslie-jamison-8628_dinner_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-tr_1368064.jpg" --- # I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to figure out… ![“I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to figure out what to say at the dinner table.” quote by Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/leslie-jamison-8628_dinner_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-tr_1368064.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/leslie-jamison-8628_dinner_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-tr_1368064.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/leslie-jamison-8628_dinner_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-tr_1368064.jpg) > “I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to figure out what to say at the dinner table.” [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We constantly search for words to express ourselves, especially in social settings. **In simple terms:** Finding the right words is a perpetual challenge. Key Takeaway Practice articulating thoughts clearly. Themes communication self‑expression social anxiety Mood thoughtful anxious Type advice reflective When to use this quote - dinner conversations - public speaking - writing Key Concepts language authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What topics make you speechless? - How can you prepare for awkward moments? A Different Perspective Overthinking can hinder spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Dinner table](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-table/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to get something down on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-trying-to-get-something-down-on/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [I'll tell you one thing... no doubt about it, my favorite kind of comedy is talking head comedy. I mean, if it were up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/i-ll-tell-you-one-thing-no-doubt-about-it-my-favorite-kind-of-comedy/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [Any director, if you really ask them, will tell you that the toughest thing to do is like a dinner table or a dialogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ross/any-director-if-you-really-ask-them-will-tell-you-that-the-toughest/) [Gary Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ross/) > [There are a lot of funny people in my family. Absolutely. There were a lot of jokes growing up around the dinner table, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-corddry/there-are-a-lot-of-funny-people-in-my-family-absolutely-there-were-a/) [Nate Corddry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-corddry/) > [Growing up, around the dinner table my father and I didn't talk sports. We talked business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-kushner/growing-up-around-the-dinner-table-my-father-and-i-didn-t-talk-sports/) [Jared Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-kushner/) > [We were never the family that ordered pizza, and my mom never came home with a bucket of fried chicken. My mom always made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haylie-duff/we-were-never-the-family-that-ordered-pizza-and-my-mom-never-came/) [Haylie Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haylie-duff/) > [We used to speak Irish - Gaelic Irish - around the dinner table, but over the years, we lost that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-o-reilly/we-used-to-speak-irish-gaelic-irish-around-the-dinner-table-but-over/) [Genevieve O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-o-reilly/) > [I was raised before the advent of DVD players in cars and iPads at the dinner table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levy/i-was-raised-before-the-advent-of-dvd-players-in-cars-and-ipads-at/) [Dan Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levy/) > [Tipping your hat to a lady is good form. If you're at a dinner table, you'd most certainly take your hat off - cowboy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/tipping-your-hat-to-a-lady-is-good-form-if-you-re-at-a-dinner-table/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [We need a strong farm bill that gives assistance to farmers during times of drought, creates markets for local goods, protects our environment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ellison/we-need-a-strong-farm-bill-that-gives-assistance-to-farmers-during/) [Keith Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ellison/) > [“When someone asks, Dogs or cats? I usually say, For what, dinner?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/when-someone-asks-dogs-or-cats-i-usually-say-for-what-dinner/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [We had this rule in our family growing up. You can't just call Mom and say, 'What's for dinner?' You need to ask her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-plum/we-had-this-rule-in-our-family-growing-up-you-can-t-just-call-mom-and/) [Kelsey Plum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-plum/) > [She wants me to take out Patton.” Barron’s brows draw together. “Take out? As in transform him?” “No,” I say. “As in take out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/she-wants-me-to-take-out-patton-barron-s-brows-draw-together-take-out/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [I'm sometimes afraid I'll cross a line and it'll be difficult to come back, say, to dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-m-sometimes-afraid-i-ll-cross-a-line-and-it-ll-be-difficult-to-come/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [To address our current food system problems, I propose a series of local, regional, national and global conversations - starting around the dinner table…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-gustafson/to-address-our-current-food-system-problems-i-propose-a-series-of/) [Ellen Gustafson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-gustafson/) ## More by Leslie Jamison > [When people ask what kind of nonfiction I write, I say 'all kinds,' but really I mean I don’t write any kind at all:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/when-people-ask-what-kind-of-nonfiction-i-write-i-say-all-kinds-but/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [It's one of the most liberating things I experience in writing - letting yourself get rid of a gesture or character or plot point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-s-one-of-the-most-liberating-things-i-experience-in-writing/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [The pain is what you make of it. You have to find something in it that yields. I understood my guiding imperative as: keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/the-pain-is-what-you-make-of-it-you-have-to-find-something-in-it-that/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I needed people to deliver my feelings back to me in a form that was legible. Which is a superlative kind of empathy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-needed-people-to-deliver-my-feelings-back-to-me-in-a-form-that-was/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [In my own life as a reader I experience real moments of alienation when a writer feels too perfect, or like even the flaws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/in-my-own-life-as-a-reader-i-experience-real-moments-of-alienation/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I'm happy not knowing. Most of the time (except when I'm a neurotic mess about uncertainty) I feel glad that the horizon is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-m-happy-not-knowing-most-of-the-time-except-when-i-m-a-neurotic/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I do like arranging things. I like order. I basically like all these things that are the opposite of what people associate with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-do-like-arranging-things-i-like-order-i-basically-like-all-these/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I used to believe that hurting would make you more alive to the hurting of others. I used to believe in feeling bad because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-used-to-believe-that-hurting-would-make-you-more-alive-to-the/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Whatever we can’t hold, we hang on a hook that will hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/whatever-we-can-t-hold-we-hang-on-a-hook-that-will-hold-it/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“I obsessed, and told myself this obsession was empathy. But it wasn't, quite. It was more like inpathy. I wasn't expatriating myself into another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-obsessed-and-told-myself-this-obsession-was-empathy-but-it-wasn-t/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Post-wounded women know that postures of pain play into limited and outmoded conceptions of womanhood. Their hurt has a new native language spoken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/post-wounded-women-know-that-postures-of-pain-play-into-limited-and/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [12-step recovery is very focused on abstinence, and that's bled into the broader understanding of treatment. It would be most useful to have multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/12-step-recovery-is-very-focused-on-abstinence-and-that-s-bled-into/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [We don't want to be wounds ("No, you're the wound!") but we should be allowed to have them, to speak about having them, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/we-don-t-want-to-be-wounds-no-you-re-the-wound-but-we-should-be/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy means realizing no trauma has discrete edges. Trauma bleeds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-means-realizing-no-trauma-has-discrete-edges-trauma-bleeds/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy isn't just listening, it's asking the questions whose answers need to be listened to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-isn-t-just-listening-it-s-asking-the-questions-whose-answers/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) [Explore all 79 Leslie Jamison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## More Dinner quotes > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [My dinners have never interfered with my business. They have been my recreation. . . A public banquet, if eaten with thought and care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/my-dinners-have-never-interfered-with-my-business-they-have-been-my/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [“We just went out for dinner. We didn't participate in a Roman orgy, I swear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-dahl/we-just-went-out-for-dinner-we-didn-t-participate-in-a-roman-orgy-i/) [Victoria Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-dahl/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Sonny Von Bulow, who said to her husband Claus on their honeymoon, Stop needling me. Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/sonny-von-bulow-who-said-to-her-husband-claus-on-their-honeymoon-stop/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. It ain't over 'til you both get your cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/remember-sex-is-like-a-chinese-dinner-it-ain-t-over-til-you-both-get/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I have no social life. There is no time for one. Once in a while I may go to dinner with a friend but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-halliday/i-have-no-social-life-there-is-no-time-for-one-once-in-a-while-i-may/) [Liz Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-halliday/) > [I'm not a person who would get up at 5 A.M. to write, but I could sacrifice my Friday night and just order in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-weisberger/i-m-not-a-person-who-would-get-up-at-5-a-m-to-write-but-i-could/) [Lauren Weisberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-weisberger/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-like-to-be-bought-flowers-and-taken-out-for-dinner-i-like-a-man-to/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) [Browse all 2,901 Dinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to figure out what to say at the dinner table.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leslie Jamison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-trying-to-figure-out-what-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dinner" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-trying-to-figure-out-what-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/leslie-jamison-8628_dinner_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-tr_1368064.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/leslie-jamison-8628_dinner_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-tr_1368064.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/leslie-jamison-8628_dinner_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-tr_1368064.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to figure out what to say at the dinner table.” — Leslie Jamison", "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": "Leslie Jamison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can't remember a time when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-trying-to-figure-out-what-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-trying-to-figure-out-what-to/#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 } } ] } ```