---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After the war I was going to make up for…"
description: "\"After the war I was going to make up for lost time. But the time I spent away, it's still lost. No matter what I do, it stays lost.\" — Steven Herrick"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/steven-herrick-15547_lost_after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for_1241619.png"
---

#  After the war I was going to make up for lost time. But…

![“After the war I was going to make up for lost time. But the time I spent away, it's still lost. No matter what I do, it stays lost.” quote by Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/steven-herrick-15547_lost_after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for_1241619.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/steven-herrick-15547_lost_after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for_1241619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/steven-herrick-15547_lost_after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for_1241619.png)

> “After the war I was going to make up for lost time. But the time I spent away, it's still lost. No matter what I do, it stays lost.”

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

## About This Quote

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

Lost time cannot be reclaimed; focus on present actions to create meaning.

**In simple terms:** Time lost is irretrievable.

Key Takeaway

Make the most of now.

Themes

time regret present

Mood

reflective somber

Type

personal philosophical

When to use this quote

- career planning
- family time
- creative work

Key Concepts

existentialism mindfulness life purpose

Questions to Reflect On

- What can you do today that matters?
- How do you balance mourning loss with moving forward?

A Different Perspective

Obsessing over past loss may hinder present joy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Lost time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [Let's leave all this and get away, get lost in time,where there's no reason left to hide, let's leave all this and get away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wright/let-s-leave-all-this-and-get-away-get-lost-in-time-where-there-s-no/)

[Brian Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wright/)

> [No we can't make up for lost time. That's your loss not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-we-can-t-make-up-for-lost-time-that-s-your-loss-not-mine/)

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

> [We can make up for lost money, but we can't make up for lost time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/we-can-make-up-for-lost-money-but-we-can-t-make-up-for-lost-time/)

[Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/)

> [She stays lost in the middle of her own world somewhere. We can’t get in and she doesn’t come out. Not often anyway, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malorie-blackman/she-stays-lost-in-the-middle-of-her-own-world-somewhere-we-can-t-get/)

[Malorie Blackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malorie-blackman/)

> [“I’d already said too much, giving my hand away. Yet I found myself lost on an island of need, peering through a telescope, searching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-e-laine/i-d-already-said-too-much-giving-my-hand-away-yet-i-found-myself-lost/)

Terri E. Laine

> [“You take a shower, your head is up, far away from everything, lost in the clouds, but down in the tub, man, you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-barlow/you-take-a-shower-your-head-is-up-far-away-from-everything-lost-in/)

[Toby Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-barlow/)

> [“He knew that when he'd let Cheyenne lead him away, he'd lost his chance to find out the name of the girl who, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/he-knew-that-when-he-d-let-cheyenne-lead-him-away-he-d-lost-his/)

[M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/)

> [Tell me o god, where do you live, what is your address,we are travelers here, who are searching their destinations.your memory comes back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atahar/tell-me-o-god-where-do-you-live-what-is-your-address-we-are-travelers/)

ATAHAR

> [Before you run away from me before you're lost between the notes. The beat goes round and round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radiohead/before-you-run-away-from-me-before-you-re-lost-between-the-notes-the/)

[Radiohead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radiohead/)

> [You can't make up for something you lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-dumais/you-can-t-make-up-for-something-you-lost/)

[Troy Dumais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-dumais/)

> [What you had could never make up for what you'd lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-you-had-could-never-make-up-for-what-you-d-lost/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“We are all of us lost. The best we can do is make whatever we're lost in as much like home as we can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/we-are-all-of-us-lost-the-best-we-can-do-is-make-whatever-we-re-lost/)

[Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/)

> [“When you make weirdness into a puzzle to be solved, you make LOST”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fink/when-you-make-weirdness-into-a-puzzle-to-be-solved-you-make-lost/)

[Joseph Fink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fink/)

> [The best Thing we can do is to make wherever we're lost in Look as much like home as we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/the-best-thing-we-can-do-is-to-make-wherever-we-re-lost-in-look-as/)

[Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/)

> [Lost is the time that you don't spend for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/lost-is-the-time-that-you-don-t-spend-for-love/)

[Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/)

## More by Steven Herrick

> [I'm drinking away the exam results that don't take me anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-drinking-away-the-exam-results-that-don-t-take-me-anywhere/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [I’m alone with the ghost of the swamp, somewhere near the weeping willows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-alone-with-the-ghost-of-the-swamp-somewhere-near-the-weeping/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“And I feel like a real Dad when I read to her at night. She won't sleep without one story, at least.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/and-i-feel-like-a-real-dad-when-i-read-to-her-at-night-she-won-t/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“Jack reads too many books. He thinks we're going to drive all year and have great adventures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/jack-reads-too-many-books-he-thinks-we-re-going-to-drive-all-year-and/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“It was a good apple too. A good apple, picked by a madman on a full moon night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/it-was-a-good-apple-too-a-good-apple-picked-by-a-madman-on-a-full/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [Two Arts degrees does not a life make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/two-arts-degrees-does-not-a-life-make/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“I'm dreaming of a month of Sundays.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-dreaming-of-a-month-of-sundays/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“Bloody rain” says Mr Chivers Bouncing a basketball On the one dry patch of court bloody rain” he nods to our Sports class And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/bloody-rain-says-mr-chivers-bouncing-a-basketball-on-the-one-dry/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“I'm glad she left me the kids. I'd be lost without them. Lost and bitter. With them here, I'm only bitter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-glad-she-left-me-the-kids-i-d-be-lost-without-them-lost-and/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“I'm thinking about babies. Emma's baby. Jack and my baby. Growing in my mind, if not in my womb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-thinking-about-babies-emma-s-baby-jack-and-my-baby-growing-in-my/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“She didn't have an answer for that. People like her only ever have questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/she-didn-t-have-an-answer-for-that-people-like-her-only-ever-have/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“I know that today, with a full tank, and with Annabel, that it's time to go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-know-that-today-with-a-full-tank-and-with-annabel-that-it-s-time-to/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“I decide to make the most of the time we got left before she gets too big for this small town.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-decide-to-make-the-most-of-the-time-we-got-left-before-she-gets-too/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“So, we skipped Annabel, and discussed condoms. I said I liked the orange ones, and we ended our talk in laughter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/so-we-skipped-annabel-and-discussed-condoms-i-said-i-liked-the-orange/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

> [“He did what he could, and that was more than enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/he-did-what-he-could-and-that-was-more-than-enough/)

[Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

[Explore all 42 Steven Herrick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/)

## More Lost quotes

> [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/)

[Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/)

> [“A sense of desolation settled within me: a cold, slimy stone lodged under my lungs. There was nothing happy about the woods, I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-davidson/a-sense-of-desolation-settled-within-me-a-cold-slimy-stone-lodged/)

[Craig Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-davidson/)

> [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/)

[Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/)

> [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/)

> [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/)

[Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/)

> [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/)

[Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/)

> [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/)

[Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/)

> [The text says Deuteronomy was lost, but you say it was written then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/the-text-says-deuteronomy-was-lost-but-you-say-it-was-written-then/)

[Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/)

> [Opportunities change, strategies change, but people and psychology do not change. If trend-following systems don’t work well, something else will. There’s always money being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-blake/opportunities-change-strategies-change-but-people-and-psychology-do/)

[Gil Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-blake/)

> [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/)

[David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/)

[W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/)

Browse all 13,631 Lost quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "After the war I was going to make up for lost time. But the time I spent away, it's still lost. No matter what I do, it stays lost.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Steven Herrick"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for-lost-time-but-the-time-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Lost"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for-lost-time-but-the-time-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/steven-herrick-15547_lost_after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for_1241619.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/steven-herrick-15547_lost_after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for_1241619.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/steven-herrick-15547_lost_after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for_1241619.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“After the war I was going to make up for lost time. But the time I spent away, it's still lost. No matter…” — Steven Herrick",
                "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": "Steven Herrick",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "After the war I was going...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for-lost-time-but-the-time-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/after-the-war-i-was-going-to-make-up-for-lost-time-but-the-time-i/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
