---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sitting by the chimney corner as we grow…"
description: "\"Sitting by the chimney corner as we grow old, the commonest things around us take on live meanings and hint at the difference between these driving tim..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/rebecca-harding-davis-18375_calm_sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow_476027.png"
---

#  Sitting by the chimney corner as we grow old, the…

![“Sitting by the chimney corner as we grow old, the commonest things around us take on live meanings and hint at the difference between these driving times and the calm, slow moving days when we were young.” quote by Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/rebecca-harding-davis-18375_calm_sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow_476027.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/rebecca-harding-davis-18375_calm_sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow_476027.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/rebecca-harding-davis-18375_calm_sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow_476027.png)

> “Sitting by the chimney corner as we grow old, the commonest things around us take on live meanings and hint at the difference between these driving times and the calm, slow moving days when we were young.”

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Aging brings deeper appreciation for ordinary moments, revealing their hidden significance compared to youthful haste.

**In simple terms:** Old age gives new meaning to simple things.

Key Takeaway

Notice and cherish everyday moments.

Themes

aging reflection meaning time nostalgia

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- Family gatherings
- quiet evenings
- personal retrospection
- intergenerational conversations

Key Concepts

Existentialism mindfulness transcendence

Questions to Reflect On

- What simple moments have you overlooked?
- How does age change your perception of daily life?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize the past, overlooking present challenges.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Calm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calm/) [Chimneys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimneys/) [Commonest Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonest-things-4103194/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Grow Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-old/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Hints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hints/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Moving on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-on/) [Old Commonest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-commonest-4103196/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sitting Chimney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-chimney-4103195/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Calm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-calm-3949799/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/)

## Related quotes

> [A season to live, And a reason to die. At times we are calm, At times we do cry. Until last hope we try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/a-season-to-live-and-a-reason-to-die-at-times-we-are-calm-at-times-we/)

[Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/)

> [“Be cautious in good times. Be cheerful in bad times. Be busy in boring times. Be calm in hectic times. Be prudent at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/be-cautious-in-good-times-be-cheerful-in-bad-times-be-busy-in-boring/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [Non- Euclidean calculus and quantum physics are enough to stretch any brain; and when one mixes them with folklore, and tries to trace a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/non-euclidean-calculus-and-quantum-physics-are-enough-to-stretch-any/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We all ought to understand we're on our own. Believing in Santa Claus doesn't do kids any harm for a few years but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/we-all-ought-to-understand-we-re-on-our-own-believing-in-santa-claus/)

[Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/)

> [There's no way the new chimney will fall down, Lu. Not with you in charge. It wouldn't dare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-sage/there-s-no-way-the-new-chimney-will-fall-down-lu-not-with-you-in/)

[Angie Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-sage/)

> [A cold blast hit him and he laughed at the sting as he stepped outside, surveyed the night sky, and drank deeply. Such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/a-cold-blast-hit-him-and-he-laughed-at-the-sting-as-he-stepped/)

[J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/)

> [One sparrow is worth a thousand gulls, When it sings. The gull sits on chimney-tops. He mocks the guinea, challenges The crow, inciting various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/one-sparrow-is-worth-a-thousand-gulls-when-it-sings-the-gull-sits-on/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [P.S. If it's not a secret, will you tell me how you got my dollhouse inside our living room last Christmas? I know its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-fluke/p-s-if-it-s-not-a-secret-will-you-tell-me-how-you-got-my-dollhouse/)

[Joanne Fluke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-fluke/)

> [By the year 1670, wooden chimneys and log houses of the Plymouth and Bay colonies were replaced by more sightly houses of two stories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/by-the-year-1670-wooden-chimneys-and-log-houses-of-the-plymouth-and/)

[Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/)

> [Been having a fight with your blankets, Septimus?" A familiar voice echoed down the chimney. "Looks like you lost," the voice continued with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-sage/been-having-a-fight-with-your-blankets-septimus-a-familiar-voice/)

[Angie Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-sage/)

> [Walking the streets on winter nights kept him warm, despite the cold nocturnal passions of uprising winds. His footsteps led between trade-marked houses, two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sillitoe/walking-the-streets-on-winter-nights-kept-him-warm-despite-the-cold/)

[Alan Sillitoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sillitoe/)

> [We are constituted a good deal like chickens, which, taken from the hen, and put in a basket of cotton in the chimney-corner, willoften…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-constituted-a-good-deal-like-chickens-which-taken-from-the-hen/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Its tall chimneys throw up black smoke, impregnating everything with soot, and the miners' faces as they traveled the streets were also imbued with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-tall-chimneys-throw-up-black-smoke-impregnating-everything-with/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Most religion-mongers have bated their paradises with a bit of toasted cheese. They have tempted the body with large promises of possessions in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/most-religion-mongers-have-bated-their-paradises-with-a-bit-of/)

[James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/)

> [I'd like to start with the chimney jokes - I've got a stack of them. The first one is on the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/i-d-like-to-start-with-the-chimney-jokes-i-ve-got-a-stack-of-them-the/)

[Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/)

## More by Rebecca Harding Davis

> [Every child was taught from his cradle that money was Mammon, the chief agent of the flesh and the devil. As he grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/every-child-was-taught-from-his-cradle-that-money-was-mammon-the/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [War may be an armed angel with a mission, but she has the personal habits of the slums.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/war-may-be-an-armed-angel-with-a-mission-but-she-has-the-personal/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [Before the birth of the New Woman the country was not an intellectual desert, as she is apt to suppose. There were teachers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/before-the-birth-of-the-new-woman-the-country-was-not-an-intellectual/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [TO preach a sermon or edit a newspaper were the two things in life which I always felt I could do with credit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/to-preach-a-sermon-or-edit-a-newspaper-were-the-two-things-in-life/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [“Well, what was it to be a thief? He met the question at last, face to face, wiping the clammy drops of sweat from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/well-what-was-it-to-be-a-thief-he-met-the-question-at-last-face-to/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [Every child was taught from his cradle that money was Mammon, the chief agent of the flesh and the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/every-child-was-taught-from-his-cradle-that-money-was-mammon-the-2/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [You were only truly patriotic if you had a laborer for a grandfather and were glad of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/you-were-only-truly-patriotic-if-you-had-a-laborer-for-a-grandfather/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [Reform is born of need, not pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/reform-is-born-of-need-not-pity/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [Nowhere in this country, from sea to sea, does nature comfort us with such assurance of plenty, such rich and tranquil beauty as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/nowhere-in-this-country-from-sea-to-sea-does-nature-comfort-us-with/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [Reform is born of need, not pity. No vital movement of the people has worked down, for good or evil; fermented, instead, carried up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/reform-is-born-of-need-not-pity-no-vital-movement-of-the-people-has/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [It is a good rule never to see or talk to the man whose words have wrung your heart, or helped it, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/it-is-a-good-rule-never-to-see-or-talk-to-the-man-whose-words-have/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [I have never seen an adequate description anywhere of the amazement, the uncomprehending horror of the bulk of the American people which preceded the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/i-have-never-seen-an-adequate-description-anywhere-of-the-amazement/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [America may have great poets and novelists, but she never will have more than one necromancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/america-may-have-great-poets-and-novelists-but-she-never-will-have/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [the New Englander landed on a stony, barren tract, and a large share of his strength during two centuries has gone to force a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/the-new-englander-landed-on-a-stony-barren-tract-and-a-large-share-of/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

> [You will find the poet who wrings the heart of the world, or the foremost captain of his time, driving a bargain or paring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/you-will-find-the-poet-who-wrings-the-heart-of-the-world-or-the/)

[Rebecca Harding Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

[Explore all 35 Rebecca Harding Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/)

## More Calm quotes

> [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“After the storm, reigns the calm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simdi-onuora/after-the-storm-reigns-the-calm/)

[Simdi Onuora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simdi-onuora/)

> [So mightiest powers buy deepest calms are fed, And sleep, how oft, in things that gentlest be!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/so-mightiest-powers-buy-deepest-calms-are-fed-and-sleep-how-oft-in/)

[Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/)

> [KEEP CALM and HAVE A SUGAR CUBE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/keep-calm-and-have-a-sugar-cube/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [To practice Aikido fully you must calm the spirit and go back to the origin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/to-practice-aikido-fully-you-must-calm-the-spirit-and-go-back-to-the/)

[Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/)

> [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/)

[Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/)

> [The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages, only then will Israel be calm for the next 40 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ben-ari/the-goal-of-the-operation-is-to-send-gaza-back-to-the-middle-ages/)

[Michael Ben-Ari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ben-ari/)

> [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [When I was a child I truly loved: Unthinking love as calm and deep As the North Sea. But I have lived, And now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/when-i-was-a-child-i-truly-loved-unthinking-love-as-calm-and-deep-as/)

[John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/)

> [~Keep Calm and Swagger On~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/keep-calm-and-swagger-on/)

[Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/)

> [Ride your horse calm, forward and then make him straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-zettl/ride-your-horse-calm-forward-and-then-make-him-straight/)

[Walter Zettl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-zettl/)

> [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Religious work is one of the best ways to keep from facing your reality if you are Christian, if you are using it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/religious-work-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-from-facing-your/)

[Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/)

[Browse all 3,074 Calm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calm/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Sitting by the chimney corner as we grow old, the commonest things around us take on live meanings and hint at the difference between these driving times and the calm, slow moving days when we were young.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rebecca Harding Davis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow-old-the-commonest-things/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Calm"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow-old-the-commonest-things/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/rebecca-harding-davis-18375_calm_sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow_476027.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/rebecca-harding-davis-18375_calm_sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow_476027.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/rebecca-harding-davis-18375_calm_sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow_476027.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sitting by the chimney corner as we grow old, the commonest things around us take on live meanings and hint…” — Rebecca Harding Davis",
                "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": "Rebecca Harding Davis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harding-davis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Sitting by the chimney corner as...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow-old-the-commonest-things/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harding-davis/sitting-by-the-chimney-corner-as-we-grow-old-the-commonest-things/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
