--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to think of home as a verb…" description: "\"I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep recreating.\" — Madeleine Thien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/madeleine-thien-26559_home_i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-someth_1733901.jpg" --- # I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep… ![“I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep recreating.” quote by Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/madeleine-thien-26559_home_i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-someth_1733901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/madeleine-thien-26559_home_i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-someth_1733901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/madeleine-thien-26559_home_i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-someth_1733901.jpg) > “I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep recreating.” [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Home is an ongoing action, constantly being rebuilt and redefined through our choices and relationships. **In simple terms:** Home is something we continually create, not a static place. Key Takeaway Treat home as a dynamic, evolving practice. Themes home identity continuity Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - family life - moving - renovation - community building Key Concepts process creation relationship Questions to Reflect On - How do you actively shape your sense of home? - What routines keep your home feeling alive? A Different Perspective Viewing home as static can hinder growth and adaptation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Recreating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recreating/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [A sentence can offer a moment of quiet, it can crackle with energy or it can just lie there, listless and uninteresting. What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/a-sentence-can-offer-a-moment-of-quiet-it-can-crackle-with-energy-or/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [One of the glories of English simplicity is the possibility of using the same word as noun and verb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sapir/one-of-the-glories-of-english-simplicity-is-the-possibility-of-using/) [Edward Sapir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sapir/) > [Love is a verb, not a noun. It is active. Love is not just feelings of passion and romance. It is behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-forward/love-is-a-verb-not-a-noun-it-is-active-love-is-not-just-feelings-of/) [Susan Forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-forward/) > [parenting isn't a noun but a verb--an ongoing process instead of an accomplishment. And that no matter how many years you put into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/parenting-isn-t-a-noun-but-a-verb-an-ongoing-process-instead-of-an/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I am a verb. I am that I amNouns exist because there is a created universe and physical reality, but if the universe is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/i-am-a-verb-i-am-that-i-amnouns-exist-because-there-is-a-created/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [If you are using an adverb, you have got the verb wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/if-you-are-using-an-adverb-you-have-got-the-verb-wrong/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [I want to rethink 'surrender' as an active verb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-want-to-rethink-surrender-as-an-active-verb/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Theater used to be a verb; it used to be an act. But nowadays it is just a noun. It is a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/theater-used-to-be-a-verb-it-used-to-be-an-act-but-nowadays-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Happiness is not a noun or a verb. It's a conjunction. Connective tissue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/happiness-is-not-a-noun-or-a-verb-it-s-a-conjunction-connective-tissue/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [I live on Earth at present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/i-live-on-earth-at-present-and-i-don-t-know-what-i-am-i-know-that-i/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Mother is a verb, not a noun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/mother-is-a-verb-not-a-noun/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [Someone has written, Love is a verb. It requires doing -not just saying and thinking. The test is in what one does, how one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-haight/someone-has-written-love-is-a-verb-it-requires-doing-not-just-saying/) [David B. Haight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-haight/) > [Whatever you want to say, there is only one word to express it, only one verb to give it movement, only one adjective to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/whatever-you-want-to-say-there-is-only-one-word-to-express-it-only/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Adverbs are a sign that you've used the wrong verb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/adverbs-are-a-sign-that-you-ve-used-the-wrong-verb/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More by Madeleine Thien > [“She wanted to tell them that whatever happened, whatever they chose, one day they would have to come awake, everyone would have to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/she-wanted-to-tell-them-that-whatever-happened-whatever-they-chose/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“What mattered was the here and now and not the life before, what mattered were the changeable things of today and tomorrow and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/what-mattered-was-the-here-and-now-and-not-the-life-before-what/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“Bertolt Brecht: I would also like to be wise. In the old books it says what wisdom is: To shun the strife of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/bertolt-brecht-i-would-also-like-to-be-wise-in-the-old-books-it-says/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“The things you experience," she continued, "are written on your cells as memories and patterns, which are reprinted again on the next generation. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/the-things-you-experience-she-continued-are-written-on-your-cells-as/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“IN THOSE DAYS, your village might change hands every few weeks, one day to the Communists, the next to the Nationalists, the next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/in-those-days-your-village-might-change-hands-every-few-weeks-one-day/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“Tomorrow begins from another dawn, when we will be fast asleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/tomorrow-begins-from-another-dawn-when-we-will-be-fast-asleep/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“He kisses her, and she knows, somehow, that he is asking for help, for an end to the sadness they are causing one another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/he-kisses-her-and-she-knows-somehow-that-he-is-asking-for-help-for-an/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“If they want to come for you, they will come, and it doesn't matter what you read or what you failed to read. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/if-they-want-to-come-for-you-they-will-come-and-it-doesn-t-matter/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“If some people say what is in their hearts and other people say what glides easily off the tongue, how can we talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/if-some-people-say-what-is-in-their-hearts-and-other-people-say-what/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“When she returned, she was full of life, impassioned. She seemed to want change, within herself, between them, and she believed all things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/when-she-returned-she-was-full-of-life-impassioned-she-seemed-to-want/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“She saw a soldier strike a boy ahead of her with his baton. 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They're good noodles but they won't change the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/i-ve-got-nothing-to-offer-you-kids-but-these-noodles-they-re-good/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“She says that she held on to the memory as if it were a touchstone, something that could anchor her. She knows, has always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/she-says-that-she-held-on-to-the-memory-as-if-it-were-a-touchstone/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) [Explore all 21 Madeleine Thien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) ## More Home quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [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/) > [When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-sosa/when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-pennant-race-you-can-t-go-up-there/) [Sammy Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-sosa/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [You play a part, and as soon as a movie is over and the camera stops, you go home and you're not really responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nastassja-kinski/you-play-a-part-and-as-soon-as-a-movie-is-over-and-the-camera-stops/) [Nastassja Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nastassja-kinski/) [Browse all 25,855 Home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep recreating.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madeleine Thien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-something-we-keep-recreating/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Home" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-something-we-keep-recreating/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/madeleine-thien-26559_home_i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-someth_1733901.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/madeleine-thien-26559_home_i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-someth_1733901.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/madeleine-thien-26559_home_i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-someth_1733901.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep recreating.” — Madeleine Thien", "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": "Madeleine Thien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I like to think of home...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-something-we-keep-recreating/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/i-like-to-think-of-home-as-a-verb-something-we-keep-recreating/#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 } } ] } ```