--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We had a good marriage,\" he said. \"I just…" description: "\"“We had a good marriage,\" he said. \"I just thought it would be so much longer.\" Then he shrugged, and coughed away a sob, this thin man in his sixties ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/meg-wolitzer-2224_aging_we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-th_3230826.jpg" --- # We had a good marriage," he said. "I just thought it would… ![“We had a good marriage," he said. "I just thought it would be so much longer." Then he shrugged, and coughed away a sob, this thin man in his sixties with the soft androgynous face that aging seemed to bring, as though all the hormones were finally mixed up in a big coed pot because it just didn't…” quote by Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/meg-wolitzer-2224_aging_we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-th_3230826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/meg-wolitzer-2224_aging_we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-th_3230826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/meg-wolitzer-2224_aging_we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-th_3230826.jpg) > ““We had a good marriage," he said. "I just thought it would be so much longer." Then he shrugged, and coughed away a sob, this thin man in his sixties with the soft androgynous face that aging seemed to bring, as though all the hormones were finally mixed up in a big coed pot because it just didn't matter anymore.”” [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An elderly man reflects on a marriage he thought would last longer, revealing how aging blurs expectations and emotional intensity. **In simple terms:** Aging changes perspective on relationships and expectations. Key Takeaway Accept the fluid nature of life and love. Themes aging marriage expectations Mood reflective melancholic Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - elder care - relationship counseling - personal reflection - family dynamics Key Concepts life cycles emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile past expectations with present reality? - What does aging teach about love? A Different Perspective Aging can alter emotional priorities and expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Androgynous Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/androgynous-face-6111668/) [Face Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-aging-6111666/) [Man Sixties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-sixties-5404279/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Soft Androgynous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soft-androgynous-6111667/) [Thin man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thin-man/) ## Related quotes > [I think I was probably a 60-year-old man in waiting for most of my life. Even as a child I had something of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-think-i-was-probably-a-60-year-old-man-in-waiting-for-most-of-my/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I'm a child of the sixties, I'm a man of the sixties. During that period of time this country was coming apart at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-flood/i-m-a-child-of-the-sixties-i-m-a-man-of-the-sixties-during-that/) [Curt Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-flood/) > [“But this month is all about CITY OF JASMINE which I hope you already have in your hot little hands. My favorite review snippet?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-raybourn/but-this-month-is-all-about-city-of-jasmine-which-i-hope-you-already/) [Deanna Raybourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-raybourn/) > [“The Thin Man I indulge myself In rich refusals. Nothing suffices. I hone myself to This edge. Asleep, I Am a horizon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-justice/the-thin-man-i-indulge-myself-in-rich-refusals-nothing-suffices-i/) [Donald Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-justice/) > [“That image of Joan of Arc burning up in a fire burned inside me like a new religion. Her face skyward. Her faith muscled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/that-image-of-joan-of-arc-burning-up-in-a-fire-burned-inside-me-like/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Enclosing every thin man, there's a fat man demanding elbow-room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/enclosing-every-thin-man-there-s-a-fat-man-demanding-elbow-room/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Another woman catches sight of Fischerle's hump on the ground and runs screaming into the street: 'Murder! Murder!' She takes the hump for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/another-woman-catches-sight-of-fischerle-s-hump-on-the-ground-and/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Outside every fat man there is an even fatter man trying to close in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/outside-every-fat-man-there-is-an-even-fatter-man-trying-to-close-in/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-live-in-succession-in-division-in-parts-in-particles-meantime/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I'm fat, but I'm thin inside. Has it ever struck you that there's a thin man inside every fat man, just as they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-m-fat-but-i-m-thin-inside-has-it-ever-struck-you-that-there-s-a/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I grew up in this tiny town in Rhode Island, and we didn't have cable. We had three TV stations, and one of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-myrin/i-grew-up-in-this-tiny-town-in-rhode-island-and-we-didn-t-have-cable/) [Arden Myrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-myrin/) > [I thin many people's deviant behavior starts with dreams because dreams are so non-linear... as if there's an assumption that everything has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/i-thin-many-people-s-deviant-behavior-starts-with-dreams-because/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [“Thaddaeus, the tenth, is the disciple of praise, a quality in which the undisciplined man is woefully lacking. When this quality of praise and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-goddard/thaddaeus-the-tenth-is-the-disciple-of-praise-a-quality-in-which-the/) [Neville Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-goddard/) > [Before judging a thin man, one must get some information. Perhaps he was once fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-point/before-judging-a-thin-man-one-must-get-some-information-perhaps-he/) [Fernand Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-point/) > [Having an eating disorder doesn't show ‘strength.’ Strength is when are able to overcome your demons after being sick and tired for so long.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/having-an-eating-disorder-doesn-t-show-strength-strength-is-when-are/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) ## More by Meg Wolitzer > [New teachers were just a part of life, for a few days after one arrived, squawks of interest were emitted from various corners, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/new-teachers-were-just-a-part-of-life-for-a-few-days-after-one/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“It was exhausting being a schizophrenic, which he was still convinced he was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/it-was-exhausting-being-a-schizophrenic-which-he-was-still-convinced/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [I always thought it was the saddest and most devastating ending. How you could have these enormous dreams that never get met. How without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/i-always-thought-it-was-the-saddest-and-most-devastating-ending-how/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [But clearly life took people and shook them around until finally they were unrecognizable even to those who had once known them well. Still,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/but-clearly-life-took-people-and-shook-them-around-until-finally-they/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [I don't write autobiographically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/i-don-t-write-autobiographically/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“...the Iraq war was the Ishtar of wars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/the-iraq-war-was-the-ishtar-of-wars/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“This was a time of life, she understood, in which you might not know what you were, but that was all right. You judged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/this-was-a-time-of-life-she-understood-in-which-you-might-not-know/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“Another spell had been thrust upon her so long ago...She hadn't been able to see it but it was real. Otherwise why would you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/another-spell-had-been-thrust-upon-her-so-long-ago-she-hadn-t-been/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [Even if you yourself were unhappy and anxious, whenever you glimpsed happiness in your child, you suddenly became happy too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/even-if-you-yourself-were-unhappy-and-anxious-whenever-you-glimpsed/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“The world of law was filled with the fallen, but theater wasn't. No one ever "fell back" onto theater. You had to really, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/the-world-of-law-was-filled-with-the-fallen-but-theater-wasn-t-no-one/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“Crema Seamans," Ethan repeated thoughtfully. "It's like a soup made from ... various semens. A medley of semens. It's a flavour of Campbell's soup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/crema-seamans-ethan-repeated-thoughtfully-it-s-like-a-soup-made-from/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [I've always been drawn to writing for young readers. The books that I read growing up remain in my mind very strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-writing-for-young-readers-the-books-that-i/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“No one ever told you that in moment of crisis, family was allowed to trump friendship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/no-one-ever-told-you-that-in-moment-of-crisis-family-was-allowed-to/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [You had only one chance for a signature in life, but most people left no impression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/you-had-only-one-chance-for-a-signature-in-life-but-most-people-left/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [“Part of the beauty of love was that you didn't need to explain it to anyone else. You could refuse to explain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/part-of-the-beauty-of-love-was-that-you-didn-t-need-to-explain-it-to/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) [Explore all 178 Meg Wolitzer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We had a good marriage,\" he said. \"I just thought it would be so much longer.\" Then he shrugged, and coughed away a sob, this thin man in his sixties with the soft androgynous face that aging seemed to bring, as though all the hormones were finally mixed up in a big coed pot because it just didn't matter anymore.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Meg Wolitzer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-thought-it-would-be-so-much/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-thought-it-would-be-so-much/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/meg-wolitzer-2224_aging_we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-th_3230826.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/meg-wolitzer-2224_aging_we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-th_3230826.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/meg-wolitzer-2224_aging_we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-th_3230826.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We had a good marriage,\" he said. \"I just thought it would be so much longer.\" Then he shrugged, and coughed…” — Meg Wolitzer", "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": "Meg Wolitzer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We had a good marriage,\" he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-thought-it-would-be-so-much/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/we-had-a-good-marriage-he-said-i-just-thought-it-would-be-so-much/#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 } } ] } ```