--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm unsure why one trifling incident this…" description: "\"“I'm unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has moved me to write to you. But since we've been separated, I may most miss coming home to deliv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/lionel-shriver-744_coming-home_i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-thi_400951.jpg" --- # I'm unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has… ![“I'm unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has moved me to write to you. But since we've been separated, I may most miss coming home to deliver the narrative curiosities of my day, the way a cat might lay mice at your feet: the small, humble offerings that couples proffer after foraging…” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/lionel-shriver-744_coming-home_i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-thi_400951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/lionel-shriver-744_coming-home_i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-thi_400951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/lionel-shriver-744_coming-home_i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-thi_400951.jpg) > ““I'm unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has moved me to write to you. But since we've been separated, I may most miss coming home to deliver the narrative curiosities of my day, the way a cat might lay mice at your feet: the small, humble offerings that couples proffer after foraging in separate backyards. Were you still installed in my kitchen, slathering crunchy peanut butter on Branola though it was almost time for dinner, I'd no sooner have put down the bags, one leaking a clear vicious drool, than this little story would come tumbling out, even before I chided that we're having pasta tonight so would you please not eat that whole sandwich.”” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer misses intimate daily sharing with a loved one, using domestic details to illustrate emotional longing and the comfort of routine. **In simple terms:** Missing everyday intimacy with a partner. Key Takeaway Cherish small shared moments. Themes loneliness domestic intimacy longing Mood nostalgic affectionate Type personal reflective When to use this quote - writing a letter - sharing meals - reflecting on daily rituals Key Concepts attachment routine symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How do daily rituals sustain love? - What small gestures could you offer today? A Different Perspective The sentiment may romanticize routine, overlooking deeper relational issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coming home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-home/) [Dinner Sooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-sooner-3595405/) [Foraging Separate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foraging-separate-3595406/) [Pasta Tonight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pasta-tonight-3595408/) [Peanut butter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peanut-butter/) [Separated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separated/) [Separated Miss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separated-miss-3595407/) ## Related quotes > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [“Ocean separates lands, not souls..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/ocean-separates-lands-not-souls/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [“we separated immediately, I suppose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ros-clarke/we-separated-immediately-i-suppose/) [Ros Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ros-clarke/) > [My parents separated before I was 1 year old. I moved in with my aunt and uncle when I was in fourth grade. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-polamalu/my-parents-separated-before-i-was-1-year-old-i-moved-in-with-my-aunt/) [Troy Polamalu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-polamalu/) > [“The holy servants were separated, for the sake of Law of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-holy-servants-were-separated-for-the-sake-of-law-of-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In my childhood diary I wrote: “I have decided that it is better not to love anyone, because when you love people, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-my-childhood-diary-i-wrote-i-have-decided-that-it-is-better-not-to/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [We are not separated from spirit, we are in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/we-are-not-separated-from-spirit-we-are-in-it/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [Life and sports cannot be separated; they are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/life-and-sports-cannot-be-separated-they-are-one/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“If we get separated there’s not much hope of us ever meeting anywhere, but I need to keep up the pretense of hope because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/if-we-get-separated-there-s-not-much-hope-of-us-ever-meeting-anywhere/) [Susan Ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/) > [My family - my mother and father had gone through such a hard time that by the time I graduated from sixth grade, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-bridges/my-family-my-mother-and-father-had-gone-through-such-a-hard-time-that/) [Ruby Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-bridges/) > [Though the world may often appear to be more charitable than the church, it is crucial to remember that, for the church, the care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/though-the-world-may-often-appear-to-be-more-charitable-than-the/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [When I came back to it, we amicably separated from Warner Bros. I just picked up where I left off, trying to write the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/when-i-came-back-to-it-we-amicably-separated-from-warner-bros-i-just/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [People used to say my son looked like a Mexican Biggie. And when he was first born, memories of Biggie... you know, we didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-evans/people-used-to-say-my-son-looked-like-a-mexican-biggie-and-when-he/) [Faith Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-evans/) > [ We see each other \[ with Iman Abdulmajid\] a lot. I couldn't stand to be separated for months. It became quickly apparent to me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/we-see-each-other-with-iman-abdulmajid-a-lot-i-couldn-t-stand-to-be/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“I'm unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has moved me to write to you. But since we've been separated, I may most miss coming home to deliver the narrative curiosities of my day, the way a cat might lay mice at your feet: the small, humble offerings that couples proffer after foraging in separate backyards. Were you still installed in my kitchen, slathering crunchy peanut butter on Branola though it was almost time for dinner, I'd no sooner have put down the bags, one leaking a clear vicious drool, than this little story would come tumbling out, even before I chided that we're having pasta tonight so would you please not eat that whole sandwich.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lionel Shriver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-this-afternoon-has-moved-me-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coming home" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-this-afternoon-has-moved-me-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/lionel-shriver-744_coming-home_i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-thi_400951.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/lionel-shriver-744_coming-home_i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-thi_400951.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6a/lionel-shriver-744_coming-home_i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-thi_400951.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has moved me to write to you. But since we've been…” — Lionel Shriver", "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": "Lionel Shriver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I'm unsure why one trifling incident...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-this-afternoon-has-moved-me-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-unsure-why-one-trifling-incident-this-afternoon-has-moved-me-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 } } ] } ```