--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Get to know your parents, you never know…" description: "\"Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.\" — Mary Schmich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/mary-schmich-10979_family_get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know_2191502.png" --- # Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be… ![“Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.” quote by Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/mary-schmich-10979_family_get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know_2191502.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/mary-schmich-10979_family_get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know_2191502.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/mary-schmich-10979_family_get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know_2191502.png) > “Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.” [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cherish parents because their presence is finite and unpredictable. **In simple terms:** Parents are finite; value them Key Takeaway Spend quality time with parents now Themes family mortality gratitude Mood nostalgic appreciative Type personal reflective When to use this quote - family gatherings - caregiving - legacy planning Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - What would you say to your parents today? - How can you honor them daily? A Different Perspective People may take parents for granted until loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Good family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-family/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Sunscreen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunscreen/) [Wear sunscreen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wear-sunscreen/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/maybe-you-ll-marry-maybe-you-won-t-maybe-you-ll-have-children-maybe/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/worrying-is-as-effective-as-trying-to-solve-an-algebra-equation-by/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Don't waste your time on jealousy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/don-t-waste-your-time-on-jealousy/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/remember-compliments-you-receive-forget-the-insults-if-you-succeed-in/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Do one thing every day that scares you. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/do-one-thing-every-day-that-scares-you-the-race-is-long-and-in-the/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Unusual commencement advice: Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97: Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/unusual-commencement-advice-ladies-and-gentlemen-of-the-class-of-97/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/keep-your-old-love-letters-throw-away-your-old-bank-statements/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/be-kind-to-your-knees-you-ll-miss-them-when-they-re-gone/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Be nice to your siblings. They are your link to the past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/be-nice-to-your-siblings-they-are-your-link-to-the-past-and-the/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. 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And I'm very proud to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/i-wear-sunscreen-and-i-don-t-smoke-i-take-care-of-myself-and-i-m-very/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [Performing outside, you have to wear sunscreen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annaleigh-ashford/performing-outside-you-have-to-wear-sunscreen/) [Annaleigh Ashford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annaleigh-ashford/) > [What I've found in my life with our children is that often you can give them advice and tell them to eat the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-pitino/what-i-ve-found-in-my-life-with-our-children-is-that-often-you-can/) [Rick Pitino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-pitino/) > [Trust me, sunscreen is so, so, so important and so I always wear sunscreen, but I still get really tan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-michele/trust-me-sunscreen-is-so-so-so-important-and-so-i-always-wear/) [Lea Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-michele/) > [If you don't know what you want, you will probably never get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/if-you-don-t-know-what-you-want-you-will-probably-never-get-it/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## More by Mary Schmich > [Linda Tripp has shown that a true friend is an archivist, a biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/linda-tripp-has-shown-that-a-true-friend-is-an-archivist-a-biographer/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [The movies we love and admire are to some extent a function of who we are when we see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/the-movies-we-love-and-admire-are-to-some-extent-a-function-of-who-we/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/don-t-feel-guilty-if-you-don-t-know-what-you-want-to-do-with-your/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/dance-even-if-you-have-nowhere-to-do-it-but-your-living-room/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Thanksgiving without tension is like a Thanksgiving without turkey. It can be done, but it is not the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/thanksgiving-without-tension-is-like-a-thanksgiving-without-turkey-it/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/don-t-waste-your-time-on-jealousy-sometimes-you-re-ahead-sometimes/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [I couldn't have foreseen all the good things that have followed my mother's death. The renewed energy, the surprising sweetness of grief. The tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/i-couldn-t-have-foreseen-all-the-good-things-that-have-followed-my/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [On an average day, we allow ourselves the fiction that we own a piece of our workplace. That's part of what it takes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/on-an-average-day-we-allow-ourselves-the-fiction-that-we-own-a-piece/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Be nice to your siblings. They are your link to the past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/be-nice-to-your-siblings-they-are-your-link-to-the-past-and-the/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Families are ecosystems. Each life grows in response to the lives around it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/families-are-ecosystems-each-life-grows-in-response-to-the-lives/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [You can map your life through your favorite movies, and no two people's maps will be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/you-can-map-your-life-through-your-favorite-movies-and-no-two-people/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Barbie is just a doll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/barbie-is-just-a-doll/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Chicago is constantly auditioning for the world, determined that one day, on the streets of Barcelona, in Berlin's cabarets, in the coffee shops of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/chicago-is-constantly-auditioning-for-the-world-determined-that-one/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [When you're thinking, "Why do I have to eat Aunt Sue's casserole with potato chips crumbled on top again?" change that thought to "A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/when-you-re-thinking-why-do-i-have-to-eat-aunt-sue-s-casserole-with/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/be-kind-to-your-knees-you-ll-miss-them-when-they-re-gone/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) [Explore all 62 Mary Schmich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) ## More Family quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) Maureen Andeson > [Our concept of a family holiday was going to a guest house in the Lake district or Wales where walking was part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/our-concept-of-a-family-holiday-was-going-to-a-guest-house-in-the/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [“So Jace is my actual family," Kit said. "But I can't go live with him, because him and his hot girlfriend are going off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/so-jace-is-my-actual-family-kit-said-but-i-can-t-go-live-with-him/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [“She knew how to play him so very well. He slipped his hand around hers. "Friends," he repeated roughly. Her smile was bright enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/she-knew-how-to-play-him-so-very-well-he-slipped-his-hand-around-hers/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) > [As a family, we all loved the Flyers. To me, rooting for the Flyers were how I bonded with my dad especially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-f-goldberg/as-a-family-we-all-loved-the-flyers-to-me-rooting-for-the-flyers-were/) [Adam F. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-f-goldberg/) > [The people have always been family to me here in Las Vegas. The people have always been very, very kind to me, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-cunningham/the-people-have-always-been-family-to-me-here-in-las-vegas-the-people/) [Randall Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-cunningham/) > [“Your relationship with your brother will be, in many ways, the most complex and bewildering of all the interpersonal connections you will form. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/your-relationship-with-your-brother-will-be-in-many-ways-the-most/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Family over friends, because real friends are family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/family-over-friends-because-real-friends-are-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 36,913 Family quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Schmich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know-when-they-ll-be-gone-for-good/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Family" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know-when-they-ll-be-gone-for-good/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/mary-schmich-10979_family_get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know_2191502.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/mary-schmich-10979_family_get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know_2191502.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/mary-schmich-10979_family_get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know_2191502.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.” — Mary Schmich", "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": "Mary Schmich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Get to know your parents, you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know-when-they-ll-be-gone-for-good/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/get-to-know-your-parents-you-never-know-when-they-ll-be-gone-for-good/#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 } } ] } ```