--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When she packed up to leave, she knew…" description: "\"When she packed up to leave, she knew that she was saying goodbye to something important, which was not that bad, in a way, because it meant that at le..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/lorrie-moore-870_goodbye_when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-tha_739402.png" --- # When she packed up to leave, she knew that she was saying… ![“When she packed up to leave, she knew that she was saying goodbye to something important, which was not that bad, in a way, because it meant that at least you had said hello to it to begin with...” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/lorrie-moore-870_goodbye_when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-tha_739402.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/lorrie-moore-870_goodbye_when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-tha_739402.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/lorrie-moore-870_goodbye_when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-tha_739402.png) > “When she packed up to leave, she knew that she was saying goodbye to something important, which was not that bad, in a way, because it meant that at least you had said hello to it to begin with...” [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. Leaving signifies saying goodbye to something important, yet also acknowledges having said hello first. **In simple terms:** Leaving involves both goodbye and prior hello. Key Takeaway Appreciate beginnings and endings. Themes transition gratitude reflection Mood nostalgic hopeful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - breakups - career changes - personal growth Key Concepts relationships life cycles Questions to Reflect On - What does the “important thing” represent? - How do you honor both hello and goodbye? A Different Perspective Goodbyes can feel like loss rather than closure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goodbye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodbye/) [Saying goodbye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-goodbye/) ## Related quotes > [But Jude,' she would say, 'you knew me. All those days and years, Jude, you knew me. My ways and my hands and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/but-jude-she-would-say-you-knew-me-all-those-days-and-years-jude-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [It's fine. Replace me. Leave. I knew it was going to happen. And so, I'll let it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-laura/it-s-fine-replace-me-leave-i-knew-it-was-going-to-happen-and-so-i-ll/) [Jasmine Laura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-laura/) > [I do not say goodbye. I believe that's one of the bullshitiest words ever invented. It's not like you're given the choice to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-do-not-say-goodbye-i-believe-that-s-one-of-the-bullshitiest-words/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I keep going till that pain says hello to me. I don't say goodbye until that pain says hello. That's a good set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-plitt/i-keep-going-till-that-pain-says-hello-to-me-i-don-t-say-goodbye/) [Greg Plitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-plitt/) > [When I go to a party, nobody says hello. But when I leave, everybody says goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gobel/when-i-go-to-a-party-nobody-says-hello-but-when-i-leave-everybody/) [George Gobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gobel/) > [It takes a minute to say hello Why? I wonder why When it's seems to take forever When you have to say Goodbye?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walter-bratton/it-takes-a-minute-to-say-hello-why-i-wonder-why-when-it-s-seems-to/) [John Walter Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walter-bratton/) > [You never imagine that when you say hello to someone and you fall in love, that some day you'll have to say goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/you-never-imagine-that-when-you-say-hello-to-someone-and-you-fall-in/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Sometimes you have to say goodbye to the things you know and hello to the things you dont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcqueen/sometimes-you-have-to-say-goodbye-to-the-things-you-know-and-hello-to/) [Steve McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcqueen/) > [Now dont you dare cry, cause you see, this, is gonna kill me saying goodbye but its gotta be done and it pains me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-dont-you-dare-cry-cause-you-see-this-is-gonna-kill-me-saying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I mean, I can actually say goodbye to the game of golf, never hit another golf shot the rest of my life and I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-norman/i-mean-i-can-actually-say-goodbye-to-the-game-of-golf-never-hit/) [Greg Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-norman/) > [“Saying goodbye doesn't mean you need to forget, It doesn't mean you were never loved. It doesn't mean you're weak, It doesn't mean you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-soriano/saying-goodbye-doesn-t-mean-you-need-to-forget-it-doesn-t-mean-you/) [Jocelyn Soriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-soriano/) > [Rest assured that our work is not over because our work has never been only hunting Nazi war criminals. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-hier/rest-assured-that-our-work-is-not-over-because-our-work-has-never/) [Marvin Hier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-hier/) > [Then I kissed Max because I loved him, and everyone I had ever loved before had gone away and I had never kissed them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-millard/then-i-kissed-max-because-i-loved-him-and-everyone-i-had-ever-loved/) [Glenda Millard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-millard/) > [Not long after I was married, World War II began. My husband John volunteered for the Navy and was sent to Pensacola for training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hesselbein/not-long-after-i-was-married-world-war-ii-began-my-husband-john/) [Frances Hesselbein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hesselbein/) > [Never tear your woman down or never let her cry because sooner or later she'll be saying goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-tear-your-woman-down-or-never-let-her-cry-because-sooner-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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. 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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 Goodbye quotes > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [“When he stops giving you butterflies, Love dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-blanchard/when-he-stops-giving-you-butterflies-love-dies/) Michelle Blanchard > [No Time For Goodbye is a deliciously smart thriller, full of surprises and perfect pacing. I'm jealous I didn't write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alafair-burke/no-time-for-goodbye-is-a-deliciously-smart-thriller-full-of-surprises/) [Alafair Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alafair-burke/) > [If I died If I died tonight would you notice? Would you even care? If I died tonight would you find it humorous? Would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-died-if-i-died-tonight-would-you-notice-would-you-even-care-if-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to be ur favorite hello and ur hardest goodbye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-be-ur-favorite-hello-and-ur-hardest-goodbye/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I was a boy I didn't care about a thing It was me and this world and a broken dream I was blaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nik-taylor/when-i-was-a-boy-i-didn-t-care-about-a-thing-it-was-me-and-this-world/) Nik Taylor > [Break up was not made for you to cry.. But to take you away from the wrong man who you thought was the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/break-up-was-not-made-for-you-to-cry-but-to-take-you-away-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hurt all the time. I don't want to cry for the way I feel inside. I just want someone to hold me... I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-hurt-all-the-time-i-don-t-want-to-cry-for-the-way-i-feel-inside-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I woke up this morning and decided that I'm done with u I'm done with ur lies, I'm done with the heartache and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-heist/i-woke-up-this-morning-and-decided-that-i-m-done-with-u-i-m-done-with/) [Autumn Heist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-heist/) > [The thought of you makes me sick. I can't even bare to begin. I need to remember how it feels to be loved again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-chiar/the-thought-of-you-makes-me-sick-i-can-t-even-bare-to-begin-i-need-to/) [Francine Chiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-chiar/) > [I was always here for you,you knew you could count on me and trust me blindly, and you knew that I would never tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hayssus/i-was-always-here-for-you-you-knew-you-could-count-on-me-and-trust-me/) [Michael Hayssus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hayssus/) > [You know it ain't easy For these thoughts here to leave me There's no words to describe it In French or in English Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/citizen-cope/you-know-it-ain-t-easy-for-these-thoughts-here-to-leave-me-there-s-no/) Citizen Cope > [You come to me with scars on your wrist You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this, I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayy/you-come-to-me-with-scars-on-your-wrist-you-tell-me-this-will-be-the/) Rayy > [I threw away my phone I thought that you should know I'd throw away my home If I had somewhere to go Anything to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-simpson/i-threw-away-my-phone-i-thought-that-you-should-know-i-d-throw-away/) [Ashlee Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-simpson/) [Browse all 2,611 Goodbye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodbye/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When she packed up to leave, she knew that she was saying goodbye to something important, which was not that bad, in a way, because it meant that at least you had said hello to it to begin with...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorrie Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-that-she-was-saying-goodbye-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Goodbye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-that-she-was-saying-goodbye-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/lorrie-moore-870_goodbye_when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-tha_739402.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/lorrie-moore-870_goodbye_when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-tha_739402.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/lorrie-moore-870_goodbye_when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-tha_739402.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When she packed up to leave, she knew that she was saying goodbye to something important, which was not that…” — 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": "When she packed up to leave,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-that-she-was-saying-goodbye-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-she-packed-up-to-leave-she-knew-that-she-was-saying-goodbye-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 } } ] } ```