--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The night before, a whole day could have…" description: "\"“The night before, a whole day could have shape and design. But when it was upon you, it could vanish tragically to air.”\" — Lorrie Moore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56d/lorrie-moore-870_humour_the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have_2021594.png" --- # The night before, a whole day could have shape and design… ![“The night before, a whole day could have shape and design. But when it was upon you, it could vanish tragically to air.” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56d/lorrie-moore-870_humour_the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have_2021594.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56d/lorrie-moore-870_humour_the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have_2021594.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56d/lorrie-moore-870_humour_the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have_2021594.png) > ““The night before, a whole day could have shape and design. But when it was upon you, it could vanish tragically to air.”” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Plans and expectations can dissolve instantly when reality arrives, highlighting life's fragility. **In simple terms:** Plans can disappear when reality hits. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and stay adaptable. Themes uncertainty impermanence expectations Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal projects - career plans - relationships - travel itineraries Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope when plans fall apart? - What can you control in uncertain moments? A Different Perspective Even with preparation, outcomes can be unpredictable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Day Shape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-shape-3665273/) [Design Vanish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design-vanish-3665274/) [Humour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humour/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Night Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-day/) [Vanish Tragically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanish-tragically-3665272/) ## Related quotes > [Todays a new day. Its your day. You shape it. Dont let it be shaped by someone elses ignorance or fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/todays-a-new-day-its-your-day-you-shape-it-dont-let-it-be-shaped-by/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [And then he smiles, and in all the places around the globe where it's night, day breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/and-then-he-smiles-and-in-all-the-places-around-the-globe-where-it-s/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [Miami is one of the cities you could party all night to the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trina/miami-is-one-of-the-cities-you-could-party-all-night-to-the-next-day/) [Trina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trina/) > [Life being so short, and the possible books to write so many, it's good to function by night as well as by day; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/life-being-so-short-and-the-possible-books-to-write-so-many-it-s-good/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“What meaning has a compliment if one hears it night and day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/what-meaning-has-a-compliment-if-one-hears-it-night-and-day/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [I'm in favor of approaching both the night and the day with intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-m-in-favor-of-approaching-both-the-night-and-the-day-with-intention/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Night and the day, when united, Bring forth the beautiful light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/night-and-the-day-when-united-bring-forth-the-beautiful-light/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I know the night is not the same as the day: that all things are different, that the things of the night cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-know-the-night-is-not-the-same-as-the-day-that-all-things-are/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Night Liam was considerate, loving and thoughtful. Day Liam was a flirt, slut and a jerk. However, both night and day Liam made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-moseley/night-liam-was-considerate-loving-and-thoughtful-day-liam-was-a-flirt/) [Kirsty Moseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-moseley/) > [“Night becomes day only when the sun appears; dark man becomes good man only when the compassion appears!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/night-becomes-day-only-when-the-sun-appears-dark-man-becomes-good-man/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Day appears again. This time he leans in close enough for his hair to brush, light as silk, against my cheeks. He pulls me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/day-appears-again-this-time-he-leans-in-close-enough-for-his-hair-to/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [I sat in a theater when I was 11 years old and watched 'The Empire Strikes Back' from 10 in the morning until 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-russo/i-sat-in-a-theater-when-i-was-11-years-old-and-watched-the-empire/) [Joe Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-russo/) > [She's my night and day. Without her theres no life. She's my sun and moon. With out her, theres no life. She's my dawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-krueger/she-s-my-night-and-day-without-her-theres-no-life-she-s-my-sun-and/) [Noah Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-krueger/) > [There are boys and girls, there is night and day, but above all there is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dries-van-noten/there-are-boys-and-girls-there-is-night-and-day-but-above-all-there/) [Dries van Noten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dries-van-noten/) > [A man can only do what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/a-man-can-only-do-what-he-can-do-but-if-he-does-that-each-day-he-can/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I'm very interested in what people will do for money. Money: it's timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-m-very-interested-in-what-people-will-do-for-money-money-it-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“One of the problems with people in Chicago, she remembered, was that they were never lonely at the same time. Their sadness occurred in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/one-of-the-problems-with-people-in-chicago-she-remembered-was-that/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Once love had seemed like magic. Now it seemed like tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/once-love-had-seemed-like-magic-now-it-seemed-like-tricks/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Observing others go through them, he used to admire midlife crises, the courage and shamelessness and existential daring of them, but after he'd watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/observing-others-go-through-them-he-used-to-admire-midlife-crises-the/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Start dating someone who is funny, someone who has what in high school you called a "really great sense of humor" and what now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/start-dating-someone-who-is-funny-someone-who-has-what-in-high-school/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [You are unhappy because you believe in such a thing as happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-are-unhappy-because-you-believe-in-such-a-thing-as-happy/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Amber was not shy. If she had been shy, not one of us would be at Perkins right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-not-shy-if-she-had-been-shy-not-one-of-us-would-be-at/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [People will do anything, anything, for a really nice laugh,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/people-will-do-anything-anything-for-a-really-nice-laugh/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Farmers aren't rich. They have land but no money." Actually, my father didn't even have that much land. He had once stood on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/farmers-aren-t-rich-they-have-land-but-no-money-actually-my-father/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“My grandmother, who, when I visited, stared at me with the staggering, arrogant stare of the dying, the wise vapidity of the already gone;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/my-grandmother-who-when-i-visited-stared-at-me-with-the-staggering/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I count too heavily on birthdays, though I know I shouldn't. Inevitably I begin to assess my life by them, figure out how I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-count-too-heavily-on-birthdays-though-i-know-i-shouldn-t-inevitably/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Life is sad. Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Humour quotes > [“law that stated you didn't advertise any event you hadn't attended, any place you'd never been, or any band you didn't really listen to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mhairi-mcfarlane/law-that-stated-you-didn-t-advertise-any-event-you-hadn-t-attended/) [Mhairi McFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mhairi-mcfarlane/) > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up faster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-oxenhandler/wish-in-one-hand-shit-in-the-other-see-which-one-fills-up-faster/) [Noelle Oxenhandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-oxenhandler/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“What if," replied Inspector Fry in the same maddeningly curteous tone, "we were all to construct daisy chains and drape them so as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndsay-faye/what-if-replied-inspector-fry-in-the-same-maddeningly-curteous-tone/) [Lyndsay Faye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndsay-faye/) > [You owe me a drink, you're so ugly I dropped mine when I saw you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-owe-me-a-drink-you-re-so-ugly-i-dropped-mine-when-i-saw-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No woman ever yet either reasoned or acted long together consequentially; but some little thing, some love, some resentment, somepresent momentary interest, some supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/no-woman-ever-yet-either-reasoned-or-acted-long-together/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“Holy shit," somebody muttered in the dark. "A virgin," sputtered another. "I didn't know they still made them." "He just did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-kramer/holy-shit-somebody-muttered-in-the-dark-a-virgin-sputtered-another-i/) [Larry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-kramer/) > [“True, science has conquered many diseases, broken the genetic code, and even placed human beings on the moon, and yet when a man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/true-science-has-conquered-many-diseases-broken-the-genetic-code-and/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“John, let me make one thing clear,” Jim said, cutting me off in his most stern, evangelical voice. “Every man is blessed with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/john-let-me-make-one-thing-clear-jim-said-cutting-me-off-in-his-most/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Self-deprecating humour is a common form of comedy and it helps get the audience on side because you're being vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-brooker/self-deprecating-humour-is-a-common-form-of-comedy-and-it-helps-get/) [Alex Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-brooker/) > [“Life is like yoga; the only way you can enjoy it is by relaxing into any position you happen to find yourself in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-wakeham/life-is-like-yoga-the-only-way-you-can-enjoy-it-is-by-relaxing-into/) [Jon Wakeham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-wakeham/) > [“Charlotte Richmond says of herself: “I have few ladylike accomplishments. I cannot sing, I cannot draw, I cannot play the pianoforte or the harp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-slade/charlotte-richmond-says-of-herself-i-have-few-ladylike/) [Nicola Slade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-slade/) > [“But even if they could go home it would be difficult for me to tell you what the moral of the story is. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/but-even-if-they-could-go-home-it-would-be-difficult-for-me-to-tell/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) [Browse all 3,815 Humour quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humour/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The night before, a whole day could have shape and design. But when it was upon you, it could vanish tragically to air.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorrie Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have-shape-and-design-but-when-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humour" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have-shape-and-design-but-when-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56d/lorrie-moore-870_humour_the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have_2021594.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56d/lorrie-moore-870_humour_the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have_2021594.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56d/lorrie-moore-870_humour_the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have_2021594.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The night before, a whole day could have shape and design. But when it was upon you, it could vanish…” — Lorrie Moore", "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": "Lorrie Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The night before, a whole day...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have-shape-and-design-but-when-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/the-night-before-a-whole-day-could-have-shape-and-design-but-when-it/#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 } } ] } ```