--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today, only a fool would offer herself as…" description: "\"Today, only a fool would offer herself as the singular role model for the Good Mother. Most of us know not to tempt the fates. Themoment I felt sure I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/mary-blakely-18888_driven_today-only-a-fool-would-offer-herself-as_1347912.jpg" --- # Today, only a fool would offer herself as the singular… ![“Today, only a fool would offer herself as the singular role model for the Good Mother. Most of us know not to tempt the fates. Themoment I felt sure I had everything under control would invariably be the moment right before the principal called to report that one of my sons had just driven…” quote by Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/mary-blakely-18888_driven_today-only-a-fool-would-offer-herself-as_1347912.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/mary-blakely-18888_driven_today-only-a-fool-would-offer-herself-as_1347912.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/mary-blakely-18888_driven_today-only-a-fool-would-offer-herself-as_1347912.jpg) > “Today, only a fool would offer herself as the singular role model for the Good Mother. Most of us know not to tempt the fates. Themoment I felt sure I had everything under control would invariably be the moment right before the principal called to report that one of my sons had just driven somebody's motorcycle through the high school gymnasium.” [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on a single ideal of a perfect mother is unrealistic; unexpected crises reveal the limits of control. **In simple terms:** Perfect mother ideal is unattainable; chaos happens. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and prepare for the unexpected. Themes parenting expectations uncertainty Mood thoughtful realistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - family emergencies - child behavior - life planning Key Concepts control fate resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle sudden disruptions? - What realistic expectations can you set for yourself? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on control can cause stress; not all outcomes are predictable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Good mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-mother/) [Gymnasiums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gymnasiums/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/models/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-know/) [Motorcycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motorcycle/) [My son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-son/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal/) [Reports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reports/) [Role model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-model/) [Role models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-models/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-fool-2492767/) ## Related quotes > [Anybody who feels at ease in the world today is a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/anybody-who-feels-at-ease-in-the-world-today-is-a-fool/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) > [I know I'm a really good mother. I know it. I'm a really good mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-o-donnell/i-know-i-m-a-really-good-mother-i-know-it-i-m-a-really-good-mother/) [Rosie O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-o-donnell/) > [I think I'm an extremely good mother. I know I'm an extremely good mother. But I didn't realise how much it sucks out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kingston/i-think-i-m-an-extremely-good-mother-i-know-i-m-an-extremely-good/) [Alex Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kingston/) > [It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been--and even then thereare surprises.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/it-takes-twenty-or-so-years-before-a-mother-can-know-with-any/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [A mother is neither cocky, nor proud, because she knows the school principal may call at any minute to report that her child had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-mother-is-neither-cocky-nor-proud-because-she-knows-the-school/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's like flying jet fighters in a gymnasium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-trickle/it-s-like-flying-jet-fighters-in-a-gymnasium/) [Dick Trickle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-trickle/) > [I'm sick of very white teeth and lots of gymnasium practice. I'm bored, you know, send in the next one. I wanted a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/i-m-sick-of-very-white-teeth-and-lots-of-gymnasium-practice-i-m-bored/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [Chess is a good way to learn, to keep your brain fit and the ego in check, a mental form of your local gymnasium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/chess-is-a-good-way-to-learn-to-keep-your-brain-fit-and-the-ego-in/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [The other feature is a gymnasium named after another dead politician who was gifted with fast and extremely sure hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/the-other-feature-is-a-gymnasium-named-after-another-dead-politician/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [On my twelfth birthday, I got a new bicycle as a present from my folks, and I rode it to a fair that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/on-my-twelfth-birthday-i-got-a-new-bicycle-as-a-present-from-my-folks/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [“Some people who have been working out regularly for months or even years are still out of shape because the number of cheat days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-who-have-been-working-out-regularly-for-months-or-even/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I visited the Gymnasium in The Hague and passed my final examination (in the sciences section) in 1943.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-der-meer/i-visited-the-gymnasium-in-the-hague-and-passed-my-final-examination/) [Simon van der Meer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-der-meer/) > [We slept in what had once been the gymnasium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-slept-in-what-had-once-been-the-gymnasium/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Do I think there is a heaven? Uh, yeah I do. Like a really big gymnasium. How do I see myself there? With really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/do-i-think-there-is-a-heaven-uh-yeah-i-do-like-a-really-big-gymnasium/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) [Rodney Clapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-clapp/) ## More by Mary Blakely > [The truth invariably arrives several years after you need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/the-truth-invariably-arrives-several-years-after-you-need-it/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology,fate . . . until we can actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/however-diligent-she-may-be-however-dedicated-no-mother-can-escape/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [In motherhood, where seemingly opposite realities can be simultaneously true, the role of nurturer invariably conflicts with the role of socializer. When trouble came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-motherhood-where-seemingly-opposite-realities-can-be/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [Mothers are likely to have more bad days on the job than most other professionals, considering the hours: round-the-clock, seven days a week, fifty-two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/mothers-are-likely-to-have-more-bad-days-on-the-job-than-most-other/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [By now, legions of tireless essayists and op-ed columnists have dressed feminists down for making such a fuss about entering the professions and earning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/by-now-legions-of-tireless-essayists-and-op-ed-columnists-have/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [Families don't always realize that mother is exhausted, because mother is always exhausted. Exhausted is what looks normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/families-don-t-always-realize-that-mother-is-exhausted-because-mother/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [If my sons are to become the kind of men our daughters would be pleased to live among, attention to domestic details is critical.The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/if-my-sons-are-to-become-the-kind-of-men-our-daughters-would-be/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I'd read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/after-i-discovered-the-real-life-of-mothers-bore-little-resemblance/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [A "snapshot" feature in USA Today listed the five greatest concerns parents and teachers had about children in the '50s: talking out of turn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/a-snapshot-feature-in-usa-today-listed-the-five-greatest-concerns/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [Most literature on the culture of adolescence focuses on peer pressure as a negative force. Warnings about the "wrong crowd" read like tornado alerts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/most-literature-on-the-culture-of-adolescence-focuses-on-peer/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [However global I strove to become in my thinking over the past twenty years, my sons kept me rooted to an utterly pedestrian view,intimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/however-global-i-strove-to-become-in-my-thinking-over-the-past-twenty/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [In the range of things toddlers have to learn and endlessly review--why you can't put bottles with certain labels in your mouth, why you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-the-range-of-things-toddlers-have-to-learn-and-endlessly-review/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [When trouble comes no mother should have to plead guilty alone. The pediatricians, psychologists, therapists, goat herders, fathers, and peer groups should all be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/when-trouble-comes-no-mother-should-have-to-plead-guilty-alone-the/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been--and even then thereare surprises.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/it-takes-twenty-or-so-years-before-a-mother-can-know-with-any/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [One life stamps and influences another, which in turn stamps and influences another, on and on, until the soul of human experience breathes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/one-life-stamps-and-influences-another-which-in-turn-stamps-and/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) [Explore all 34 Mary Blakely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) ## More Driven quotes > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/when-you-heed-the-calling-of-your-heart-you-are-following-your/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/) [Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/) > [Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courage and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyman-rickover/good-ideas-and-innovations-must-be-driven-into-existence-by-courage/) [Hyman Rickover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyman-rickover/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [I've always liked game shows - the competitive aspect and the character-driven personalities you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/i-ve-always-liked-game-shows-the-competitive-aspect-and-the-character/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [I've always believed that the desire must come from within, not as a result of being driven by coaches or parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-fraser/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-desire-must-come-from-within-not-as-a/) [Dawn Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-fraser/) > [When the enemy is driven back, we have failed, and when he is cut off, encircled and dispersed, we have succeeded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-suvorov/when-the-enemy-is-driven-back-we-have-failed-and-when-he-is-cut-off/) [Alexander Suvorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-suvorov/) > [Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/darkness-is-only-driven-out-with-light-not-more-darkness/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/yelena-you-ve-driven-me-crazy-you-ve-caused-me-considerable-trouble/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [The P2 is the best car I have driven so far. Once you get your head round it, it's fun to drive, it's responsive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hoy/the-p2-is-the-best-car-i-have-driven-so-far-once-you-get-your-head/) [Chris Hoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hoy/) [Browse all 2,078 Driven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Today, only a fool would offer herself as the singular role model for the Good Mother. Most of us know not to tempt the fates. 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