--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just a moment,\" Mrs. Whatsit murmured…" description: "\"“Just a moment,\" Mrs. Whatsit murmured, and appeared to calculate rapidly upon her fingers. She nodded triumphantly. \"Exactly 2,379,152,497 years, 8 mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/madeleine-l-engle-345_moment_just-a-moment-mrs-whatsit-murmured-and-a_174424.png" --- # Just a moment," Mrs. Whatsit murmured, and appeared to… ![“Just a moment," Mrs. Whatsit murmured, and appeared to calculate rapidly upon her fingers. She nodded triumphantly. "Exactly 2,379,152,497 years, 8 months and 3 days.” quote by Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/madeleine-l-engle-345_moment_just-a-moment-mrs-whatsit-murmured-and-a_174424.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/madeleine-l-engle-345_moment_just-a-moment-mrs-whatsit-murmured-and-a_174424.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/madeleine-l-engle-345_moment_just-a-moment-mrs-whatsit-murmured-and-a_174424.png) > ““Just a moment," Mrs. Whatsit murmured, and appeared to calculate rapidly upon her fingers. She nodded triumphantly. "Exactly 2,379,152,497 years, 8 months and 3 days.”” [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time can be imagined as vast and precise, yet humorously quantified. **In simple terms:** Even huge spans can be broken into exact numbers. Key Takeaway Appreciate the absurdity in measuring the infinite. Themes time imagination humor Mood playful reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading - storytelling - creative writing - teaching Key Concepts science fiction philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does precise timing affect your perception of events? - What does the absurdity reveal about our need for control? A Different Perspective Focusing on exact numbers may distract from emotional truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [A month of days, a year of months, 20 years of months in the treadmill, is the life that slays everything worthy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bedichek/a-month-of-days-a-year-of-months-20-years-of-months-in-the-treadmill/) Roy Bedichek > [But what are years, what are months!" he would exclaim. "Why count the days, when even one day is enough for man to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-what-are-years-what-are-months-he-would-exclaim-why-count-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Practice is not a matter of years and months. It is a matter of concentration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koichi-tohei/practice-is-not-a-matter-of-years-and-months-it-is-a-matter-of/) [Koichi Tohei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koichi-tohei/) > [“It has been a year, two months, and seventeen days since I last saw him.Two years, ten months and five days since he broke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willow-aster/it-has-been-a-year-two-months-and-seventeen-days-since-i-last-saw-him/) [Willow Aster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willow-aster/) > [“It's just a moment, we die every night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/it-s-just-a-moment-we-die-every-night/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [It's just a moment that doesn't feel 100-percent truthful, a kind of a square peg/round hole situation. Which is why the preproduction on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/it-s-just-a-moment-that-doesn-t-feel-100-percent-truthful-a-kind-of-a/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) > ["No" is just a moment in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-grazer/no-is-just-a-moment-in-time/) [Brian Grazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-grazer/) > [Time is just a moment that we occupy in this brief spin around the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-manzarek/time-is-just-a-moment-that-we-occupy-in-this-brief-spin-around-the/) [Ray Manzarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-manzarek/) > [“So long as you are alive you are just the moment, perhaps, but when you are dead then you are all your life from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/so-long-as-you-are-alive-you-are-just-the-moment-perhaps-but-when-you/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [Everything tender and melancholy - as life is sometimes, just for one moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/everything-tender-and-melancholy-as-life-is-sometimes-just-for-one/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [Never holdin' on a moment/Though I hold up just a moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/never-holdin-on-a-moment-though-i-hold-up-just-a-moment/) C-DASH > [“I wish I could see you some day, Just for a moment, just see you, I wish I could hear from you some day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratish-edwards/i-wish-i-could-see-you-some-day-just-for-a-moment-just-see-you-i-wish/) [Ratish Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratish-edwards/) > [“I used to read the obituaries to gloat over all the people I've outlived, but now I don't think it matters, we all live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kjersti-annesdatter-skomsvold/i-used-to-read-the-obituaries-to-gloat-over-all-the-people-i-ve/) Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold > [I just wanna live the moment and just take every moment and embrace it because life is short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nonito-donaire/i-just-wanna-live-the-moment-and-just-take-every-moment-and-embrace/) [Nonito Donaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nonito-donaire/) > [“What a privilege it is to live now, at just this moment, and to be able to go anywhere…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/what-a-privilege-it-is-to-live-now-at-just-this-moment-and-to-be-able/) [Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/) ## More by Madeleine L'Engle > [“One of the hardest lessons I have to learn is how not to be judgmental about people who are judgmental. When I see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/one-of-the-hardest-lessons-i-have-to-learn-is-how-not-to-be/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/inspiration-more-often-comes-during-the-work-than-before-it-because/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-have-to-write-the-book-that-wants-to-be-written-and-if-the-book/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Goodness has never been a guarantee of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/goodness-has-never-been-a-guarantee-of-safety/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/faith-is-what-makes-life-bearable-with-all-its-tragedies-and/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Instead of rejoicing in this glorious “impossible” which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his mighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/instead-of-rejoicing-in-this-glorious-impossible-which-gives-meaning/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I have never lived before...Until this summer, I did not know what it was to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-have-never-lived-before-until-this-summer-i-did-not-know-what-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [On the other side of pain, there is still love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/on-the-other-side-of-pain-there-is-still-love/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-and-it-is-only-in-vulnerability-and-risk/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating then anything she had ever imagined with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-was-the-most-horrible-the-most-repellent-thing-she-had-ever-seen/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I feel as though I'm not breathing when I'm out of his presence. He's the oxygen in my air, the sun in my universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-feel-as-though-i-m-not-breathing-when-i-m-out-of-his-presence-he-s/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/rather-than-feeling-lost-and-unimportant-and-meaningless-set-against/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. 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At the end, That's what makes life worthwhile...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadun-lokuliyanage/enjoy-small-moments-as-they-come-at-the-end-that-s-what-makes-life/) Nadun Lokuliyanage > [“Will you destroy something in order to make it beautiful? Will you avoid something in order to fall in love with it? Will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/will-you-destroy-something-in-order-to-make-it-beautiful-will-you/) [Hanif Hassan Barbhuiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/) > [Any moment,everything can change.. - Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-duff/any-moment-everything-can-change-hilary-duff/) [Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-duff/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' I knew it had Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Gary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/professionally-speaking-the-proudest-moment-was-when-i-booked-the/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [I never want to look back on any moment and say I could have done more. So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/) [Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/) > [It's you. It's been you for the past 7 months, since the moment we started talking. It's you at 2am or it's you at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/it-s-you-it-s-been-you-for-the-past-7-months-since-the-moment-we/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [What I know about Ali Krieger is no moment is ever going to be too big for her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-ellis/what-i-know-about-ali-krieger-is-no-moment-is-ever-going-to-be-too/) [Jill Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-ellis/) > [“In this moment, I'm yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/in-this-moment-i-m-yours/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [You'll never see me coming around the corner not smiling... I mean, I enjoy every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquem-griffin/you-ll-never-see-me-coming-around-the-corner-not-smiling-i-mean-i/) [Shaquem Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquem-griffin/) > [Brian Johnson, AC/DC, singing 'The Hokey Pokey' with him - I'll take that over any other moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-breuer/brian-johnson-ac-dc-singing-the-hokey-pokey-with-him-i-ll-take-that/) [Jim Breuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-breuer/) > [There were moments, of course. Those small spaces in time, too soon gone, when everything seems to stand still, and existence is balanced on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/there-were-moments-of-course-those-small-spaces-in-time-too-soon-gone/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. 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