--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a mother comes home with her new…" description: "\"When a mother comes home with her new baby, she will find her abstractions are all concrete now. 'Freedom' now means being able to take a shower. 'Mobi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/marni-jackson-24397_able_when-a-mother-comes-home-with-her-new-ba_135594.jpg" --- # When a mother comes home with her new baby, she will find… ![“When a mother comes home with her new baby, she will find her abstractions are all concrete now. 'Freedom' now means being able to take a shower. 'Mobility' means being able to reach the glass of water on the dresser while not breaking the baby's suction on the breast. 'Flexibility' means being…” quote by Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/marni-jackson-24397_able_when-a-mother-comes-home-with-her-new-ba_135594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/marni-jackson-24397_able_when-a-mother-comes-home-with-her-new-ba_135594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/marni-jackson-24397_able_when-a-mother-comes-home-with-her-new-ba_135594.jpg) > “When a mother comes home with her new baby, she will find her abstractions are all concrete now. 'Freedom' now means being able to take a shower. 'Mobility' means being able to reach the glass of water on the dresser while not breaking the baby's suction on the breast. 'Flexibility' means being able to push the Record function on the VCR without dropping the baby.” [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parenthood turns abstract ideals into concrete daily needs, redefining freedom, mobility, and flexibility as basic caregiving tasks. **In simple terms:** Being a new parent makes abstract concepts concrete. Key Takeaway Prioritize practical solutions for caregiving. Themes parenthood reality caregiving priorities adaptation Mood reflective empathetic Type observational practical When to use this quote - newborn care - household chores - time management - self‑care - safety Key Concepts embodiment practicality role shift Questions to Reflect On - How can parents maintain personal autonomy? - What strategies help manage caregiving tasks? A Different Perspective Balancing personal needs with infant care is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Coming home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-home/) [Flexibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flexibility/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [New baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-baby/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Vcr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vcr/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [In the U.S. or in the West, mobility means owning your own car. Cities are designed around spread-out suburbs, societal customs are that kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavish-aggarwal/in-the-u-s-or-in-the-west-mobility-means-owning-your-own-car-cities/) [Bhavish Aggarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavish-aggarwal/) > [For many Georgians, physical mobility means social mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-warnock/for-many-georgians-physical-mobility-means-social-mobility/) [Raphael Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-warnock/) > [“With the earth firmly beneath our feet, we can approach what attracts us, and withdraw from what unnerves us. If there is real danger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/capt-tom-bunn-lcsw/with-the-earth-firmly-beneath-our-feet-we-can-approach-what-attracts/) Capt Tom Bunn LCSW > [The Taliban's acts of cultural vandalism - the most infamous being the destruction of the giant Bamiyan Buddhas - had a devastating effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-taliban-s-acts-of-cultural-vandalism-the-most-infamous-being-the/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Everyone knows what a hypocrite is. That's the guy who gripes about the sex, violence and nudity on his VCR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/everyone-knows-what-a-hypocrite-is-that-s-the-guy-who-gripes-about/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [Every coach should be recording games to watch...use your VCR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-meyer/every-coach-should-be-recording-games-to-watch-use-your-vcr/) [Don Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-meyer/) > [I have two young kids. So my VCR, like, you kind of have to sift through a lot of, like, 'Animal Mechanicals,' 'Mickey Mouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-hahn/i-have-two-young-kids-so-my-vcr-like-you-kind-of-have-to-sift-through/) [Kathryn Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-hahn/) > [Today is a time of turbulence and stagnation, of threat and promise from a competitor: the magic, omnivorous videocassette recorder (VCR). In other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/today-is-a-time-of-turbulence-and-stagnation-of-threat-and-promise/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [We would also go to musicals. So Singing In the Rain, On the Town, and West Side Story. Especially West Side Story because played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-tomei/we-would-also-go-to-musicals-so-singing-in-the-rain-on-the-town-and/) [Marisa Tomei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-tomei/) > [Wouldn't it be nice if our lives were like VCRs , and we could 'fast forward' through the crummy times?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/wouldn-t-it-be-nice-if-our-lives-were-like-vcrs-and-we-could-fast/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [You might be a redneck if...you bought a VCR so you could tape wrestling while you are at work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/you-might-be-a-redneck-if-you-bought-a-vcr-so-you-could-tape/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [We were probably the last people in the country to get a VCR and we didn't have cable. There wasn't any admiration of glamour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hendricks/we-were-probably-the-last-people-in-the-country-to-get-a-vcr-and-we/) [Christina Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hendricks/) > [Do you know what the good side of crack is? If you're up at the right hour, you can get a VCR for $1.50.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/do-you-know-what-the-good-side-of-crack-is-if-you-re-up-at-the-right/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [But in that moment when my brother took the field, all that washed away, and everyone was proud... I looked up at my dad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/but-in-that-moment-when-my-brother-took-the-field-all-that-washed/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [if we center our lives on BMWs, RVs, VCRs, PCs and the other acronyms of consumerism, we cannot expect our children to do otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnetta-b-cole/if-we-center-our-lives-on-bmws-rvs-vcrs-pcs-and-the-other-acronyms-of/) [Johnnetta B. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnetta-b-cole/) ## More by Marni Jackson > [Home alone with a wakeful newborn, I could shower so quickly that the mirror didn't fog and the backs of my knees stayed dry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/home-alone-with-a-wakeful-newborn-i-could-shower-so-quickly-that-the/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [I could still remember how having a two day old baby makes you feel faintly sorry for everyone else, stuck in their wan unmiraculous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/i-could-still-remember-how-having-a-two-day-old-baby-makes-you-feel/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [Why are we, the most medicalized of societies, a culture in pain?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/why-are-we-the-most-medicalized-of-societies-a-culture-in-pain/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [“Home alone with a wakeful newborn, I could shower so quickly that the mirror didn't fog and the backs of my knees stayed dry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/home-alone-with-a-wakeful-newborn-i-could-shower-so-quickly-that-the-2/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [Housework hassles go on, are never resolved, and will probably extend into the afterlife ('Why am I the one who takes the clouds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/housework-hassles-go-on-are-never-resolved-and-will-probably-extend/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [Simple intervention - the time spent with a patient - is a very powerful ingredient of the patient-doctor contract. The evidence is against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/simple-intervention-the-time-spent-with-a-patient-is-a-very-powerful/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [If Jeff Mogil and Ron Melzack are right about genetics and pain, fifty years from now, generic Tylenol tablets will seem as quaint to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/if-jeff-mogil-and-ron-melzack-are-right-about-genetics-and-pain-fifty/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [Like an animal, cancer sleeps, prowls, hibernates, turns surly or placid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/like-an-animal-cancer-sleeps-prowls-hibernates-turns-surly-or-placid/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [Addiction might be redefined not as a character flaw but as a "biochemical deficit management." Our emotional habits will become an accepted factor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/addiction-might-be-redefined-not-as-a-character-flaw-but-as-a/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [Every time I caught a fish, I wondered how something so small could have such clear, pure strength. It kept reminding me of another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/every-time-i-caught-a-fish-i-wondered-how-something-so-small-could/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [At a certain point, the soul exits from a cherished photograph, because we have come to the end of our loving projection into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/at-a-certain-point-the-soul-exits-from-a-cherished-photograph-because/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [Motherhood is like Albania- you can't trust the descriptions in the books, you have to go there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/motherhood-is-like-albania-you-can-t-trust-the-descriptions-in-the/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [There seems to be a hole in the culture where mothers went. Then, when their kids went off to school or stopped having ear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/there-seems-to-be-a-hole-in-the-culture-where-mothers-went-then-when/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [The first axiom of the family vacation is that someone, possibly everyone, will get sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/the-first-axiom-of-the-family-vacation-is-that-someone-possibly/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) > [It wasn't just that my breasts were sore and my legs seethed with restlessness at night. A knitted cap seemed to have settled on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marni-jackson/it-wasn-t-just-that-my-breasts-were-sore-and-my-legs-seethed-with/) [Marni Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) [Explore all 24 Marni Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marni-jackson/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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