--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The 1st day, I stood in the kitchen…" description: "\"The 1st day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I wanted to do that forever.\" — Nancy Garden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/nancy-garden-27466_annie_the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leani_2581035.jpg" --- # The 1st day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the… ![“The 1st day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I wanted to do that forever.” quote by Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/nancy-garden-27466_annie_the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leani_2581035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/nancy-garden-27466_annie_the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leani_2581035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/nancy-garden-27466_annie_the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leani_2581035.jpg) > “The 1st day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I wanted to do that forever.” [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A simple domestic scene reveals a lifelong passion for caregiving and nurturing. **In simple terms:** Seeing a moment inspires lifelong purpose. Key Takeaway Embrace nurturing roles. Themes family caregiving purpose identity storytelling Mood warm nostalgic inspirational Type literary personal When to use this quote - parenting - volunteering - career choice Key Concepts maternal instinct career calling Questions to Reflect On - What moments shaped your purpose? - How can you balance care with self?care A Different Perspective Idealizing caregiving may ignore personal limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) ## Related quotes > [“The first day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I wanted to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/the-first-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leaning-against-the-counter/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“Brother, if you feed the cats, they'll keep coming back. Please. I beg you. Stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nely-cab/brother-if-you-feed-the-cats-they-ll-keep-coming-back-please-i-beg/) [Nely Cab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nely-cab/) > [And so we stood there in the kitchen, my mother and I, facing off over everything that had built up since June, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/and-so-we-stood-there-in-the-kitchen-my-mother-and-i-facing-off-over/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“I stood here in this kitchen elaborating and embellishing this fantasy for some time instead of taking responsibility for what was happening around me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mccormack/i-stood-here-in-this-kitchen-elaborating-and-embellishing-this/) [Mike McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mccormack/) > [“She left the room, with her black-and-white kitty, Ruff, Elizabeth, Naiad and Persephone- a spotted gray-and-white shorthair- following on her heels in hopes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-anne-warren/she-left-the-room-with-her-black-and-white-kitty-ruff-elizabeth-naiad/) [Tracy Anne Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-anne-warren/) > [“Jesus, she called her cat "Mr. Purrsie Purrs." Colt didn't know much about cats but he knew hers wasn't a stupid one and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/jesus-she-called-her-cat-mr-purrsie-purrs-colt-didn-t-know-much-about/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [And Annie showed me how ailanthus trees grow under subway and sewer gratings, stretching toward the sun, making shelter in the summer, she said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/and-annie-showed-me-how-ailanthus-trees-grow-under-subway-and-sewer/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [Liza-don't let it make any difference. It won't, will it? With us, I mean." "Of course it won't," I told her. But I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/liza-don-t-let-it-make-any-difference-it-won-t-will-it-with-us-i-mean/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [It's Annie and me they're all sitting around here like cardboard people judging; It's Annie and me. And what we did that they think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/it-s-annie-and-me-they-re-all-sitting-around-here-like-cardboard/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“I’ll take care of her.” “She’s not yours to take care of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/i-ll-take-care-of-her-she-s-not-yours-to-take-care-of/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [When I was six years old my friend was auditioning for 'Annie,' and I decided I wanted to audition with her. My mom was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-emerson/when-i-was-six-years-old-my-friend-was-auditioning-for-annie-and-i/) [Jacqueline Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-emerson/) > [I remember going onstage on Broadway in this Leigh Bowery thing for a track like "Ich Bin Kunst." I've got breasts, this latex dripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-remember-going-onstage-on-broadway-in-this-leigh-bowery-thing-for-a/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [“It’s about Fia. Everything always is, even when she is nowhere near, even when she left all of us. We still orbit the brilliant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/it-s-about-fia-everything-always-is-even-when-she-is-nowhere-near/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [He never lets go of Annie's hand. Not when they walk, not when they eat. I doubt he ever plans to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/he-never-lets-go-of-annie-s-hand-not-when-they-walk-not-when-they-eat/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) ## More by Nancy Garden > [And Annie showed me how ailanthus trees grow under subway and sewer gratings, stretching toward the sun, making shelter in the summer, she said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/and-annie-showed-me-how-ailanthus-trees-grow-under-subway-and-sewer/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“The first day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I wanted to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/the-first-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leaning-against-the-counter/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“She's a social worker, Karen," Mac said when I told the group. "She must know something about homosexuality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/she-s-a-social-worker-karen-mac-said-when-i-told-the-group-she-must/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“Don't let ignorance win', said Ms. Stevenson. 'Let love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/don-t-let-ignorance-win-said-ms-stevenson-let-love/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“Have you ever felt really close to someone? So close that you can't understand why you and the other person have two separate bodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/have-you-ever-felt-really-close-to-someone-so-close-that-you-can-t/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [Ugh! Young girls, they should laugh. Life's bad enough when you're grown, you might as well laugh when you're young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/ugh-young-girls-they-should-laugh-life-s-bad-enough-when-you-re-grown/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“I am happy, I tried to tell him with my eyes. I'm happy with Annie; she and my work are all I'll ever need;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/i-am-happy-i-tried-to-tell-him-with-my-eyes-i-m-happy-with-annie-she/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [Don't let ignorance win. Let love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/don-t-let-ignorance-win-let-love/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“It felt a little as if we'd found a script that had been written just for us, and we were reading through the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/it-felt-a-little-as-if-we-d-found-a-script-that-had-been-written-just/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [Liza-don't let it make any difference. It won't, will it? With us, I mean." "Of course it won't," I told her. But I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/liza-don-t-let-it-make-any-difference-it-won-t-will-it-with-us-i-mean/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [Don't punish yourselves for people's ignorant reactions to what we all are. Don't let ignorance win. Let love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/don-t-punish-yourselves-for-people-s-ignorant-reactions-to-what-we/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [The thing about mountains is that you have to keep on climbing them, and that it's always hard, but there's a view from top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/the-thing-about-mountains-is-that-you-have-to-keep-on-climbing-them/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“Chad kept kidding me that I was in love, and asking with whom, and then Sally and Walt did, too, and after a while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/chad-kept-kidding-me-that-i-was-in-love-and-asking-with-whom-and-then/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“I went downstairs to Dad’s encyclopedia and looked up HOMOSEXUALITY, but that didn’t tell me much about any of the things I felt. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/i-went-downstairs-to-dad-s-encyclopedia-and-looked-up-homosexuality/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“There’s a Greek legend—no, it’s in something Plato wrote—about how true lovers are really two halves of the same person. It says that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/there-s-a-greek-legend-no-it-s-in-something-plato-wrote-about-how/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) [Explore all 20 Nancy Garden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) ## More Annie quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [He never lets go of Annie's hand. Not when they walk, not when they eat. I doubt he ever plans to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/he-never-lets-go-of-annie-s-hand-not-when-they-walk-not-when-they-eat/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“It’s about Fia. Everything always is, even when she is nowhere near, even when she left all of us. We still orbit the brilliant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/it-s-about-fia-everything-always-is-even-when-she-is-nowhere-near/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I remember going onstage on Broadway in this Leigh Bowery thing for a track like "Ich Bin Kunst." I've got breasts, this latex dripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-remember-going-onstage-on-broadway-in-this-leigh-bowery-thing-for-a/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [When I was six years old my friend was auditioning for 'Annie,' and I decided I wanted to audition with her. My mom was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-emerson/when-i-was-six-years-old-my-friend-was-auditioning-for-annie-and-i/) [Jacqueline Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-emerson/) > [“I’ll take care of her.” “She’s not yours to take care of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/i-ll-take-care-of-her-she-s-not-yours-to-take-care-of/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I started acting as a child in Community Theatre but I didn't do any serious stuff. It was all musicals like 'Annie' and 'Wizard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/i-started-acting-as-a-child-in-community-theatre-but-i-didn-t-do-any/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) > [I grew up in New York till I was 5, and I remember going to see 'Annie' and some musicals as a kid, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/i-grew-up-in-new-york-till-i-was-5-and-i-remember-going-to-see-annie/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [ I have younger kids, and I adopted them late in life. They don't know these people \[from Annie Hall\] at all. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-keaton/i-have-younger-kids-and-i-adopted-them-late-in-life-they-don-t-know/) [Diane Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-keaton/) > [My father is a silent cinema freak, so he took me to 1925 silent films that took forever, like 5-hour movies, but I've seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carice-van-houten/my-father-is-a-silent-cinema-freak-so-he-took-me-to-1925-silent-films/) [Carice van Houten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carice-van-houten/) > [“Cole gets up and then says, “Adam. Five texts. I can read them to you.” He pauses. “Unless they’re personal.” I roll my eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/cole-gets-up-and-then-says-adam-five-texts-i-can-read-them-to-you-he/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [And Annie showed me how ailanthus trees grow under subway and sewer gratings, stretching toward the sun, making shelter in the summer, she said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/and-annie-showed-me-how-ailanthus-trees-grow-under-subway-and-sewer/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [You'd look out and there'd be little babies watching the show, and boys and girls. They loved the cowboys, and they loved Annie. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-peters/you-d-look-out-and-there-d-be-little-babies-watching-the-show-and/) [Bernadette Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-peters/) > [I have this image in my head of me in the house I grew up in, and hearing this incredible music on the television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jarreau/i-have-this-image-in-my-head-of-me-in-the-house-i-grew-up-in-and/) [Al Jarreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jarreau/) > [I am impressed by the way Annie Kevans captured the different types of beauties that have been my inspiration and my muses from my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-gaultier/i-am-impressed-by-the-way-annie-kevans-captured-the-different-types/) [Jean Paul Gaultier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-gaultier/) Browse all 117 Annie quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The 1st day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I wanted to do that forever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Garden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leaning-against-the-counter/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Annie" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leaning-against-the-counter/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/nancy-garden-27466_annie_the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leani_2581035.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/nancy-garden-27466_annie_the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leani_2581035.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/nancy-garden-27466_annie_the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leani_2581035.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The 1st day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I…” — Nancy Garden", "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": "Nancy Garden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The 1st day, I stood in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leaning-against-the-counter/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/the-1st-day-i-stood-in-the-kitchen-leaning-against-the-counter/#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 } } ] } ```