--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With two sons born eighteen months apart…" description: "\"With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. I remember open..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/mary-blakely-18888_activity_with-two-sons-born-eighteen-months-apart_2816097.jpg" --- # With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated… ![“With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. I remember opening the refrigerator late one night and finding a roll of aluminum foil next to a pair of small red tennies. Certain that I was responsible for the…” quote by Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/mary-blakely-18888_activity_with-two-sons-born-eighteen-months-apart_2816097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/mary-blakely-18888_activity_with-two-sons-born-eighteen-months-apart_2816097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/mary-blakely-18888_activity_with-two-sons-born-eighteen-months-apart_2816097.jpg) > “With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. I remember opening the refrigerator late one night and finding a roll of aluminum foil next to a pair of small red tennies. Certain that I was responsible for the refrigerated shoes, I quickly closed the door and ran upstairs to make sure I had put the babies in their cribs instead of the linen closet.” [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. Balancing intense parental responsibilities can feel automatic and chaotic, leading to moments of doubt and hyper‑vigilance. **In simple terms:** Parenting can feel like autopilot and cause anxiety. Key Takeaway Pause, breathe, and trust your instincts. Themes parenting anxiety mindfulness Mood stressed reflective Type personal reflective When to use this quote - late‑night caregiving - checking baby safety - managing household chores Key Concepts automatic behavior hypervigilance parental identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between necessary caution and over‑checking? - What strategies help you stay present? A Different Perspective Even with vigilance, mistakes happen; perfection isn’t realistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Aluminum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aluminum/) [Aluminum foil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aluminum-foil/) [Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Childhood Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood-remember-1005700/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Closed The Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closed-the-door/) [Closets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closets/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Early childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-childhood/) [Eighteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighteen/) [Eighteen Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighteen-months-1539310/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Foils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foils/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Linen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linen/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [One night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-night/) [Opening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening/) [Pairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pairs/) [Pilots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pilots/) [Ran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ran/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Refrigerated Shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refrigerated-shoes-3555224/) [Refrigerators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refrigerators/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Opening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-opening-1144080/) [Responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible/) [Shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoes/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Upstairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upstairs/) ## Related quotes > [I dont have aluminum foil on my windows anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-james/i-dont-have-aluminum-foil-on-my-windows-anymore/) [Rick James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-james/) > [Cooking Tip: Wrap turkey leftovers in aluminum foil and throw them out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hollander/cooking-tip-wrap-turkey-leftovers-in-aluminum-foil-and-throw-them-out/) [Nicole Hollander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hollander/) > [I don't have aluminum foil on my windows anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-james/i-don-t-have-aluminum-foil-on-my-windows-anymore/) [Rick James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-james/) > [Wrap the turkey up In aluminum foil My brother likes to masturbate With baby oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/wrap-the-turkey-up-in-aluminum-foil-my-brother-likes-to-masturbate/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > [ \[Vincent Price\] had a fish recipe where he wrapped \[the fish\] in aluminum foil and put in these herbs. And then you put it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-peterson/vincent-price-had-a-fish-recipe-where-he-wrapped-the-fish-in-aluminum/) [Cassandra Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-peterson/) > [Wrap the turkey up in aluminum foil, my brother like to masturbate with baby oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/wrap-the-turkey-up-in-aluminum-foil-my-brother-like-to-masturbate/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > [“Aluminum occupies nearly ten percent of Earth’s crust yet was unknown to the ancients and unfamiliar to our great-grandparents. The element was not isolated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/aluminum-occupies-nearly-ten-percent-of-earth-s-crust-yet-was-unknown/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Where's my tax form? Where's the file that's supposed to hold my W-2 form and interest statement? Where's the mileage log I specifically asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/where-s-my-tax-form-where-s-the-file-that-s-supposed-to-hold-my-w-2/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [“I remember certain group gatherings that are hard to get up and leave from. I remember alligators and quicksand in jungle movies. (Pretty scary.)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-brainard/i-remember-certain-group-gatherings-that-are-hard-to-get-up-and-leave/) [Joe Brainard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-brainard/) > [I do remember at my very first opening in 1979 another artist coming up to me, and he was haranguing me, saying, "Did you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-do-remember-at-my-very-first-opening-in-1979-another-artist-coming/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [These are the quicksilver moments of my childhood I cannot remember entirely. Irresistible and emblematic, I can recall them only in fragments and shivers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/these-are-the-quicksilver-moments-of-my-childhood-i-cannot-remember/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [I think back to my childhood, and I remember running around as a kid. We were all running around then. It wasn't about getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/i-think-back-to-my-childhood-and-i-remember-running-around-as-a-kid/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [“There are always mystical countries that are a part of one's childhood. Those we remember and visit sometimes when we are asleep and dreaming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-are-always-mystical-countries-that-are-a-part-of-one-s/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [If you recall childhood, you may remember that the kids who stuck straws and cigarettes up their noses back then seemed funnier than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-you-recall-childhood-you-may-remember-that-the-kids-who-stuck/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/) [Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/) ## 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 Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. 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