--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the first visit in many years for…" description: "\"“It is the first visit in many years for your son, finally a citizen of his new country and free to travel, and you try to suppress your undercurrent o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/mohsin-hamid-798_express-love_it-is-the-first-visit-in-many-years-for_264723.jpg" --- # It is the first visit in many years for your son, finally… ![“It is the first visit in many years for your son, finally a citizen of his new country and free to travel, and you try to suppress your undercurrent of resentment at his decision to absent himself from your presence in so devastatingly severe a manner. You feel a love you know you will never be…” quote by Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/mohsin-hamid-798_express-love_it-is-the-first-visit-in-many-years-for_264723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/mohsin-hamid-798_express-love_it-is-the-first-visit-in-many-years-for_264723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/mohsin-hamid-798_express-love_it-is-the-first-visit-in-many-years-for_264723.jpg) > ““It is the first visit in many years for your son, finally a citizen of his new country and free to travel, and you try to suppress your undercurrent of resentment at his decision to absent himself from your presence in so devastatingly severe a manner. You feel a love you know you will never be able to adequately explain or express to him, a love that flows one way down the generations, not in reverse, and is understood and reciprocated only when time has made of a younger generation an older one.”” [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A parent watches their child become an adult in another country, feeling love, pride, and a bittersweet resentment as generational roles reverse over time. **In simple terms:** Parents feel mixed emotions as children leave and age. Key Takeaway Accept the evolving relationship and cherish moments. Themes family migration generational change love resentment Mood nostalgic reflective bittersweet Type literary personal When to use this quote - family reunions - immigration ceremonies - intergenerational dialogue - personal reflection Key Concepts identity belonging parental sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - How does distance reshape familial love? - What rituals help maintain connection across borders? A Different Perspective The quote may idealen underplay the child's agency and the complexities of cultural assimilation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Express Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/express-love/) ## Related quotes > [A few years after my first son was born, he wanted to know how we chose his name, so I began reading him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-becker/a-few-years-after-my-first-son-was-born-he-wanted-to-know-how-we/) [Boris Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-becker/) > [Woman's great strength lies in being late or absent. 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It is shaped like an egg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-dream-that-someone-in-space-says-to-me-so-let-us-rush-then-to-see/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Words Don't Express Your Love You Gotta Prove It](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-martin/words-don-t-express-your-love-you-gotta-prove-it/) [Brandon Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-martin/) > [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [“I like to read as much as I can from every genre. That way, I can express my love for all writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-selinsky/i-like-to-read-as-much-as-i-can-from-every-genre-that-way-i-can/) [Jen Selinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-selinsky/) ## More by Mohsin Hamid > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [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/) > [“I met her eyes, and for the first time I perceived that there was something broken behind them, like a tiny crack in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-met-her-eyes-and-for-the-first-time-i-perceived-that-there-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“muscularity, made more pronounced by her gauntness, and the near-inanimate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/muscularity-made-more-pronounced-by-her-gauntness-and-the-near/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“In this group, everyone was foreign, and so, in a sense, no one was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/in-this-group-everyone-was-foreign-and-so-in-a-sense-no-one-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“It seemed to me then - and to be honest, sir, seems to me still - that America was engaged only in posturing. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/it-seemed-to-me-then-and-to-be-honest-sir-seems-to-me-still-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the uncertain future becomes the past, the past in turn becomes uncertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-uncertain-future-becomes-the-past-the-past-in-turn-becomes/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-machine-of-a-human-being-is-turned-on-it-seems-to-produce-a/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful. Four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-such-comparisons-troubled-me-in/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Americans need to educate themselves, from elementary school onward, about what their country has done abroad. And they need to play a more active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/americans-need-to-educate-themselves-from-elementary-school-onward/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I'm not a representative of Pakistan; I'm just an example that Pakistanis are different from each other. I believe it in my fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-m-not-a-representative-of-pakistan-i-m-just-an-example-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“end of a couple is like a death, and the notion of death, of temporariness, can remind us of the value of things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/end-of-a-couple-is-like-a-death-and-the-notion-of-death-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [NYC doesn't have a big sign saying "You must love diversity and the rights of all people." And that's not what makes you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/nyc-doesn-t-have-a-big-sign-saying-you-must-love-diversity-and-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) [Explore all 361 Mohsin Hamid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More Express Love quotes > [“I like to read as much as I can from every genre. That way, I can express my love for all writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-selinsky/i-like-to-read-as-much-as-i-can-from-every-genre-that-way-i-can/) [Jen Selinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-selinsky/) > [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [Words Don't Express Your Love You Gotta Prove It](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-martin/words-don-t-express-your-love-you-gotta-prove-it/) [Brandon Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-martin/) > [“I dream that someone in space says to me: So let us rush, then, to see the world. 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Because sometimes loving is not enough we have to express it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-be-afraid-to-express-love-to-those-who-you-love-because/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Each day that we have to get up and wake up in our right minds, get out of our beds, interact with our families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-slater/each-day-that-we-have-to-get-up-and-wake-up-in-our-right-minds-get/) [Matthew Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-slater/) > [“It is the knowledge that I'm going to die that creates the focus that I bring to being alive; the urgency of accomplishment; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/it-is-the-knowledge-that-i-m-going-to-die-that-creates-the-focus-that/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I do not know how to express, my love to you. Words are not enough!! flowers are not enough!! Hugs are not enough!! Oh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-know-how-to-express-my-love-to-you-words-are-not-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You are not here to please other people or to live your lives their way. You can only live it your own way and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/you-are-not-here-to-please-other-people-or-to-live-your-lives-their/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [It is through beauty that our heart is inspired to express love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/it-is-through-beauty-that-our-heart-is-inspired-to-express-love/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [Creatively express your love through your life. 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