--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We had a signal. When I turned the pail…" description: "\"“We had a signal. When I turned the pail upside down by the kitchen house, that meant everything was clear. Mauma would open the window and throw down ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/sue-monk-kidd-404_favorite-thing_we-had-a-signal-when-i-turned-the-pail-u_1584857.jpg" --- # We had a signal. When I turned the pail upside down by the… ![“We had a signal. When I turned the pail upside down by the kitchen house, that meant everything was clear. Mauma would open the window and throw down a taffy she stole from missus’ room. Sometimes here came a bundle of cloth scraps—real nice calicos, gingham, muslin, some import linen. One time…” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/sue-monk-kidd-404_favorite-thing_we-had-a-signal-when-i-turned-the-pail-u_1584857.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/sue-monk-kidd-404_favorite-thing_we-had-a-signal-when-i-turned-the-pail-u_1584857.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/sue-monk-kidd-404_favorite-thing_we-had-a-signal-when-i-turned-the-pail-u_1584857.jpg) > ““We had a signal. When I turned the pail upside down by the kitchen house, that meant everything was clear. Mauma would open the window and throw down a taffy she stole from missus’ room. Sometimes here came a bundle of cloth scraps—real nice calicos, gingham, muslin, some import linen. One time, that true brass thimble. Her favorite thing to take was scarlet-red thread. She would wind it up in her pocket and walk right out the house with it.”” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child learns to read secret signals that reveal kindness and generosity in a caring community. **In simple terms:** A child sees hidden signs of love and sharing. Key Takeaway Notice and appreciate small acts of generosity. Themes family generosity learning community Mood warm nostalgic Type narrative reflective When to use this quote - family gatherings - childhood memories - learning to read social cues Key Concepts signaling cultural rituals gift exchange Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize subtle kindness around you? - What signals do you miss? A Different Perspective Signals may be misinterpreted or ignored, limiting connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Favorite thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/favorite-thing/) [Stole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stole/) [Stole Missus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stole-missus-5994267/) [Taffy Stole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taffy-stole-5994268/) [Thing Scarlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-scarlet-5994269/) [Turned Pail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turned-pail-5994270/) ## Related quotes > [A thief who stole a calendar . . . got twelve months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/a-thief-who-stole-a-calendar-got-twelve-months/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“While I appear to be happy and giggling, rest assured that inside I am sad. And angry. Like that one time—Feb 14, 1997, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/while-i-appear-to-be-happy-and-giggling-rest-assured-that-inside-i-am/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Fine words! I wonder where you stole them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/fine-words-i-wonder-where-you-stole-them/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“Det kan du stole på. Liker du detektivfortellinger? Det gjør jeg. Jeg leser alle sammen, og har navnetrekkene til Dorothy Sayers og Agatha Christie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/det-kan-du-stole-p-liker-du-detektivfortellinger-det-gj-r-jeg-jeg/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Stole this from a lizard for you - D”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/stole-this-from-a-lizard-for-you-d/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“a little downy girl still wearing poppies still eating popcorn in the colored gloam where tawny Indians took paid croppers because you stole her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/a-little-downy-girl-still-wearing-poppies-still-eating-popcorn-in-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I'm so hungry," Amy said sleepily. "Hey, you stole my line," Dan said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-so-hungry-amy-said-sleepily-hey-you-stole-my-line-dan-said/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm Kieran. You must be a hell of a thief because you stole my heart from across the room,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayde-scott/i-m-kieran-you-must-be-a-hell-of-a-thief-because-you-stole-my-heart/) [Jayde Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayde-scott/) > [He has no soul,so he stole my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayna-cooper/he-has-no-soul-so-he-stole-my-heart/) [Dayna Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dayna-cooper/) > [Somewhere down the line, the evil ones stole the legacy of hip hop and flipped it to a corporate type of hip hop. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/afrika-bambaataa/somewhere-down-the-line-the-evil-ones-stole-the-legacy-of-hip-hop-and/) [Afrika Bambaataa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/afrika-bambaataa/) > [“You managed to do the same with my heart, didn’t you, Frannie? You stole it, and I didn’t even feel it happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/you-managed-to-do-the-same-with-my-heart-didn-t-you-frannie-you-stole/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [The swine who stole my dog doesn't realize what he did to me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-swine-who-stole-my-dog-doesn-t-realize-what-he-did-to-me/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) [Will Advise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-advise/) > [I caught the virus Like quick quick bring police start the sirens Arrest her please, she stole some of my items My heart, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paperboi/i-caught-the-virus-like-quick-quick-bring-police-start-the-sirens/) [Paperboi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paperboi/) > [You stole my heart,you wrapped me in your trap and you made me think that the only life I had was life next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-moreno/you-stole-my-heart-you-wrapped-me-in-your-trap-and-you-made-me-think/) [Selena Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-moreno/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. 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It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Favorite thing quotes > [My favorite thing about being a mom is just what a better person it makes you on a daily basis,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/my-favorite-thing-about-being-a-mom-is-just-what-a-better-person-it/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [“He had no doubt that he knew who Ty was now, inside and out. He knew every one of Ty's quirks and weak spots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/he-had-no-doubt-that-he-knew-who-ty-was-now-inside-and-out-he-knew/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [For every athlete, it is very important to be able to engage in their favorite thing, give all the best in training, performing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fedor-emelianenko/for-every-athlete-it-is-very-important-to-be-able-to-engage-in-their/) [Fedor Emelianenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fedor-emelianenko/) > [“I tended to spend too much time with my favorite things, loved them too hard until I wore them down. After a while, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-cavallaro/i-tended-to-spend-too-much-time-with-my-favorite-things-loved-them/) [Brittany Cavallaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-cavallaro/) > [Makeup is where my career is going, but I would love to also indulge in music. It's still one of my absolute favorite things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-charles/makeup-is-where-my-career-is-going-but-i-would-love-to-also-indulge/) [James Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-charles/) > [I like to be around people who make me laugh. It's one of my favorite things on a set. I hate it when people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/i-like-to-be-around-people-who-make-me-laugh-it-s-one-of-my-favorite/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [It's my favorite thing to do: luxurious nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haley-bennett/it-s-my-favorite-thing-to-do-luxurious-nothing/) [Haley Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haley-bennett/) > [One of my favorite things about what I do for a living is that there is no certainty that, at any hour of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samm-levine/one-of-my-favorite-things-about-what-i-do-for-a-living-is-that-there/) [Samm Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samm-levine/) > [One of my favorite things is to try delicious different fruits from different places, in Japan or other places that have different fruits you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/one-of-my-favorite-things-is-to-try-delicious-different-fruits-from/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [ I've always liked walking; that's one of my favorite things to do, and I try to walk every day. \[In Washington, D.C.\] I can't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/i-ve-always-liked-walking-that-s-one-of-my-favorite-things-to-do-and/) [Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/) > [My favorite thing is to just run into fans coincidentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rollins/my-favorite-thing-is-to-just-run-into-fans-coincidentally/) [Seth Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rollins/) > [“He liked murder. Murder and long walks had been two of his favorite things when he was younger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/he-liked-murder-murder-and-long-walks-had-been-two-of-his-favorite/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [My favorite thing about being famous... it's not really as big of a deal as everybody says it is. Being on the road is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-carter/my-favorite-thing-about-being-famous-it-s-not-really-as-big-of-a-deal/) [Aaron Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-carter/) > [I have a huge Lego collection - I have a really big Lego collection. We're talking pretty darn large. I also have a huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callan-mcauliffe/i-have-a-huge-lego-collection-i-have-a-really-big-lego-collection-we/) [Callan McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callan-mcauliffe/) > [My favorite thing to do... is to get my big trailer grill and smoke some meat and sit around with my buddies all day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/my-favorite-thing-to-do-is-to-get-my-big-trailer-grill-and-smoke-some/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) [Browse all 744 Favorite thing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/favorite-thing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We had a signal. When I turned the pail upside down by the kitchen house, that meant everything was clear. Mauma would open the window and throw down a taffy she stole from missus’ room. Sometimes here came a bundle of cloth scraps—real nice calicos, gingham, muslin, some import linen. 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