--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: WHAT THE LIVING DO Johnny, the kitchen…" description: "\"“ WHAT THE LIVING DO Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And the Drano won't work but smells dan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/marie-howe-27130_everyday_what-the-living-do-johnny-the-kitchen-si_290511.jpg" --- # WHAT THE LIVING DO Johnny, the kitchen sink has been… ![“WHAT THE LIVING DO Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And the Drano won't work but smells dangerous, and the crusty dishes have piled up waiting for the plumber I still haven't called. This is the everyday we spoke of. It's winter again: the…” quote by Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/marie-howe-27130_everyday_what-the-living-do-johnny-the-kitchen-si_290511.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/marie-howe-27130_everyday_what-the-living-do-johnny-the-kitchen-si_290511.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/marie-howe-27130_everyday_what-the-living-do-johnny-the-kitchen-si_290511.jpg) > ““ WHAT THE LIVING DO Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And the Drano won't work but smells dangerous, and the crusty dishes have piled up waiting for the plumber I still haven't called. This is the everyday we spoke of. It's winter again: the sky's a deep, headstrong blue, and the sunlight pours through the open living-room windows because the heat's on too high in here and I can't turn it off. For weeks now, driving, or dropping a bag of groceries in the street, the bag breaking, I've been thinking: This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve, I thought it again, and again later, when buying a hairbrush: This is it. Parking. Slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning. What you finally gave up. We want the spring to come and the winter to pass. We want whoever to call or not call, a letter, a kiss--we want more and more and then more of it. But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass, say, the window of the corner video store, and I'm gripped by a cherishing so deep for my own blowing hair, chapped face, and unbuttoned coat that I'm speechless: I am living. I remember you. ”” [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on mundane frustrations and fleeting moments, realizing that despite chaos, the act of living is profound and cherished. **In simple terms:** Everyday struggles reveal the depth of being alive. Key Takeaway Find meaning in ordinary moments. Themes existence mundane reflection longing presence Mood thoughtful hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - daily chores - urban walking - coffee spills - winter weather - self‑observation Key Concepts mindfulness acceptance impermanence self‑recognition Questions to Reflect On - What small act brings you a sense of being alive? - How do you balance routine with moments of presence? A Different Perspective The poetic tone may romanticize struggle, overlooking practical solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living-in-the-moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-in-the-moment-2/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) [Yearning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearning/) ## Related quotes > [Don't miss out on today by living in yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/don-t-miss-out-on-today-by-living-in-yesterday/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [''Nothing can be gained by living in yesterday''](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-songz/nothing-can-be-gained-by-living-in-yesterday/) [Trey Songz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-songz/) > [“When you accept the past for what it was, you will have a brighter future. Holding on to the past means that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-m-edwards/when-you-accept-the-past-for-what-it-was-you-will-have-a-brighter/) [Marcia M Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-m-edwards/) > [I do think that at least when we're thinking about ourselves as living, conscious, human beings we are dynamic wholes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-noe/i-do-think-that-at-least-when-we-re-thinking-about-ourselves-as/) [Alva Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-noe/) > [Just concentrate on thinking and living and acting in harmony with God's laws and inspiring others to do likewise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/just-concentrate-on-thinking-and-living-and-acting-in-harmony-with/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [“There are two ways of thinking. One is living life based on fear. The other is trusting. Letting go and allowing trust to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/there-are-two-ways-of-thinking-one-is-living-life-based-on-fear-the/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [So much working, reading, thinking, living to do! A lifetime is not long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/so-much-working-reading-thinking-living-to-do-a-lifetime-is-not-long/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“So often I speak of “out of the box thinking” and living a “conscious life”; however, not regularly do I meet someone who lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-heller-garland/so-often-i-speak-of-out-of-the-box-thinking-and-living-a-conscious/) [Paula Heller Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-heller-garland/) > [If we were capable of thinking of everything, we would still be living in Eden, rent-free with all-you-can-eat buffets and infinitely better daytime TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/if-we-were-capable-of-thinking-of-everything-we-would-still-be-living/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Life becomes an even harder nut to crack right when you start thinking that living it is such a piece of cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/life-becomes-an-even-harder-nut-to-crack-right-when-you-start/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [I think about dying every day, because I can't stop thinking about living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-think-about-dying-every-day-because-i-can-t-stop-thinking-about/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“I want to affirm that thinking and living, knowing and doing, theory and practice intersect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/i-want-to-affirm-that-thinking-and-living-knowing-and-doing-theory/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“The purpose of life is to find your way back to a spiritual way of thinking and living—to be able to get past the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-find-your-way-back-to-a-spiritual-way-of-2/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [“But everyone remembered; what she loved was this, here, now, in front of her; the fat lady in the cab. Did it matter then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/but-everyone-remembered-what-she-loved-was-this-here-now-in-front-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“If you’ve been there, done that, gotten the t-shirt, isn’t it time to move on to a new destination? Don’t waste a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-hale/if-you-ve-been-there-done-that-gotten-the-t-shirt-isn-t-it-time-to/) [Mandy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-hale/) ## More by Marie Howe > [“Even If I Don’t See it Again Even if I don’t see it again.–nor ever feel it I know it is–and that if once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-nor-ever/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [I am living. I remember you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-am-living-i-remember-you/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Poetry is telling something to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-is-telling-something-to-someone/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we're going to die,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-alive-and-that-we-know-we-re/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“I had no idea that the gate I would step through to finally enter this world would be the space my brother’s body made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-had-no-idea-that-the-gate-i-would-step-through-to-finally-enter/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass, say, the window of the corner video store,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/but-there-are-moments-walking-when-i-catch-a-glimpse-of-myself-in-the/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Each of us suffers with envy/for the forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/each-of-us-suffers-with-envy-for-the-forgiven/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Without devotion any life becomes a stranger's story...told for the body to forget what it once loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/without-devotion-any-life-becomes-a-stranger-s-story-told-for-the/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [A traitor commits his crime but once. The rest/is retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/a-traitor-commits-his-crime-but-once-the-rest-is-retribution/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Every poem holds the unspeakable inside it. The unsayable... The thing that you can't really say because it's too complicated. It's too complex for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/every-poem-holds-the-unspeakable-inside-it-the-unsayable-the-thing/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“Anything I’ve ever tried to keep by force I’ve lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/anything-i-ve-ever-tried-to-keep-by-force-i-ve-lost/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [We tell each other stories to help each other live. That’s why I read poetry. I read poetry to stay alive. That’s why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/we-tell-each-other-stories-to-help-each-other-live-that-s-why-i-read/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Memory is a poet, not an historian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/memory-is-a-poet-not-an-historian/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Bedeviled, / human, your plight, in waking, is to choose from the words / that even now sleep on your tongue, and to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/bedeviled-human-your-plight-in-waking-is-to-choose-from-the-words/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) [Explore all 21 Marie Howe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) ## More Everyday quotes > [I love you with all my heart, but I didn't know true love hurts so hard, I love and I miss you, every single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-you-with-all-my-heart-but-i-didn-t-know-true-love-hurts-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Babe, I hear that everyday. all I can do is pray your not losing interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyfe-jennings/babe-i-hear-that-everyday-all-i-can-do-is-pray-your-not-losing/) [Lyfe Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyfe-jennings/) > [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/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [Photography's potential as a great image-maker and communicator is really no different from the same potential in the best poetry where familiar, everyday words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-caponigro/photography-s-potential-as-a-great-image-maker-and-communicator-is/) [Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-caponigro/) > [I love fashion. I like dressing how I feel, and my music shows how I feel - they go hand in hand. My performance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/i-love-fashion-i-like-dressing-how-i-feel-and-my-music-shows-how-i/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [I miss our conversations, I miss how we used to talk every minute of everyday and how I was able to tell you everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-our-conversations-i-miss-how-we-used-to-talk-every-minute-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Life on a small farm might seem primitive, but by living such a life we become able to discover the Great Path. I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masanobu-fukuoka/life-on-a-small-farm-might-seem-primitive-but-by-living-such-a-life/) [Masanobu Fukuoka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masanobu-fukuoka/) > [Everyday is a book-full of untold stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert/everyday-is-a-book-full-of-untold-stories/) Albert > [I'm just trusting my work. Putting it in everyday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shai-gilgeous-alexander/i-m-just-trusting-my-work-putting-it-in-everyday/) [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shai-gilgeous-alexander/) > [Often I'm told I'm an inspiration to people which I will forever be grateful for. But the reality is that I'm only able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizzie-velasquez/often-i-m-told-i-m-an-inspiration-to-people-which-i-will-forever-be/) [Lizzie Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizzie-velasquez/) > [Everyday is a gift never take it for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyday-is-a-gift-never-take-it-for-granted/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,473 Everyday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ WHAT THE LIVING DO Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And the Drano won't work but smells dangerous, and the crusty dishes have piled up waiting for the plumber I still haven't called. This is the everyday we spoke of. It's winter again: the sky's a deep, headstrong blue, and the sunlight pours through the open living-room windows because the heat's on too high in here and I can't turn it off. For weeks now, driving, or dropping a bag of groceries in the street, the bag breaking, I've been thinking: This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve, I thought it again, and again later, when buying a hairbrush: This is it. Parking. Slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning. What you finally gave up. We want the spring to come and the winter to pass. We want whoever to call or not call, a letter, a kiss--we want more and more and then more of it. But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass, say, the window of the corner video store, and I'm gripped by a cherishing so deep for my own blowing hair, chapped face, and unbuttoned coat that I'm speechless: I am living. 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