--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fathering imposed an obligation that was…" description: "\"Fathering imposed an obligation that was more than your money, your body, or your time, a presence neither physical nor measurable by clocks: open-ende..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-chabon-627_body_fathering-imposed-an-obligation-that-was_1705235.jpg" --- # Fathering imposed an obligation that was more than your… ![“Fathering imposed an obligation that was more than your money, your body, or your time, a presence neither physical nor measurable by clocks: open-ended, eternal, and invisible, like the commitment of gravity to the stars.” quote by Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-chabon-627_body_fathering-imposed-an-obligation-that-was_1705235.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-chabon-627_body_fathering-imposed-an-obligation-that-was_1705235.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-chabon-627_body_fathering-imposed-an-obligation-that-was_1705235.jpg) > “Fathering imposed an obligation that was more than your money, your body, or your time, a presence neither physical nor measurable by clocks: open-ended, eternal, and invisible, like the commitment of gravity to the stars.” [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fatherhood demands a deep, lasting commitment that transcends material resources, resembling an invisible force binding us to our children. **In simple terms:** Being a dad is an endless, unseen responsibility. Key Takeaway Embrace the lasting, intangible bond of fatherhood. Themes responsibility family commitment love Mood reflective hopeful serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - raising children - making life decisions - providing emotional support - long‑term planning Key Concepts parenthood gravity metaphor eternal bond Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal needs with parental duties? - What invisible forces guide your parenting? A Different Perspective It can feel overwhelming when expectations exceed personal capacity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Commitment Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment-gravity-1191414/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fathering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathering/) [Fathering Imposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathering-imposed-1191412/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Imposed Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposed-obligation-1191413/) [Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [In colonial America, the father was the primary parent. . . . Over the past two hundred years, each generation of fathers has hadless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/in-colonial-america-the-father-was-the-primary-parent-over-the-past/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [Being a father can unreason your worldview, or at least make it very flexible, and that can create all sorts of fun and insights.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clyde-edgerton/being-a-father-can-unreason-your-worldview-or-at-least-make-it-very/) [Clyde Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clyde-edgerton/) > [So often, as the septuagenarian reflects on life's rewards, we hear that,in the final analysis of money, power, prestige, and marriage, fathering alone waswhat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-often-as-the-septuagenarian-reflects-on-life-s-rewards-we-hear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fathering is the most masculine thing a man can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/fathering-is-the-most-masculine-thing-a-man-can-do/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [With a title like this-There's a Box in the Garage You Can Beat with a Stick-is there really a whole lot left to say?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-wier/with-a-title-like-this-there-s-a-box-in-the-garage-you-can-beat-with/) [Dara Wier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-wier/) > [A working definition of fathering might be this: fathering is the act of guiding a child to behave in ways that lead to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clyde-edgerton/a-working-definition-of-fathering-might-be-this-fathering-is-the-act/) [Clyde Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clyde-edgerton/) > [Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/fathering-is-not-something-perfect-men-do-but-something-that-perfects/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [It was my father who taught me to value myself...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/it-was-my-father-who-taught-me-to-value-myself/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [Fathering kids in old age runs in the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/fathering-kids-in-old-age-runs-in-the-family/) [James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/) > [Experience of the phenomenal capacity of our birthing body can give us an enduring sense of our own power as women. Birth is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-buckley/experience-of-the-phenomenal-capacity-of-our-birthing-body-can-give/) [Sarah J. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-buckley/) > [To exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/to-exclude-from-positions-of-trust-and-command-all-those-below-the/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“My wife was out and I was home alone with Emma when my mother called. She said, "Oh, so you're babysitting?" As politely as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-j-cohen/my-wife-was-out-and-i-was-home-alone-with-emma-when-my-mother-called/) [Lawrence J. Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-j-cohen/) > [In a world often marked by selfishness, a large family is a school of solidarity and sharing; and this attitude is to the benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/in-a-world-often-marked-by-selfishness-a-large-family-is-a-school-of/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Whatever their age, most men have never received true fathering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/whatever-their-age-most-men-have-never-received-true-fathering/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [We are on the cusp of the emergence of a company of hidden men and women who with all faith and patience have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-chironna/we-are-on-the-cusp-of-the-emergence-of-a-company-of-hidden-men-and/) [Mark Chironna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-chironna/) ## More by Michael Chabon > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Anyway, it's a pretty good story," I said. "You have to admit." "Yeah?" He crumpled up the Kleenex, having dispatched the solitary tear. "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/anyway-it-s-a-pretty-good-story-i-said-you-have-to-admit-yeah-he/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [There were so many Pittsburgh poets in my hallway that if, at that instant, a meteorite had come smashing through my roof, there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/there-were-so-many-pittsburgh-poets-in-my-hallway-that-if-at-that/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Badass.'" My grandfather sampled the flavor of the word. 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He's blind and we figure he just wandered off and maybe got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/we-figure-he-must-have-let-him-out-the-perpetrator-i-mean-he-s-blind/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Then I reminded myself that I was always willing to listen to arguments in favor of avoiding an unpleasant chore, and I shook my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/then-i-reminded-myself-that-i-was-always-willing-to-listen-to/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Love great first lines and paragraphs. From The Yiddish Policemen's Union: Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/love-great-first-lines-and-paragraphs-from-the-yiddish-policemen-s/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Life blew in gusts from the hole in the side of the elephant with a rank smell and a comic flatulence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/life-blew-in-gusts-from-the-hole-in-the-side-of-the-elephant-with-a/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Not only would I never want to belong to any club that would have me for a member--if elected I would wear street shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/not-only-would-i-never-want-to-belong-to-any-club-that-would-have-me/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [That's the best thing about writing, when you're in that zone, you're porous, ready to absorb the solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/that-s-the-best-thing-about-writing-when-you-re-in-that-zone-you-re/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Most science fiction seemed to be written for people who already liked science fiction; I wanted to write stories for anyone, anywhere, living at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/most-science-fiction-seemed-to-be-written-for-people-who-already/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [ “For as long as I could remember, I'd been making vague and confident assurances that any day I would finish the thing \[my book\].… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/for-as-long-as-i-could-remember-i-d-been-making-vague-and-confident/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) [Explore all 436 Michael Chabon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. 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I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. 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