He that raises a large family does, indeed, while he lives to observe them, stand a broader mark for sorrow; but then he stands a broader mark for pleasure too.

But, you know, you can’t be a star at home.

Renunciation remains sorrow, though a sorrow borne willingly.

Rejoicing in our joy, not suffering over our suffering, makes someone a friend.

I’m blessed to have such a tight-knit family that we can talk about anything. Whether we talk frequently or not, since we’re on separate ends of the country, there are a lot of moving parts, and we always stay tight and find that center ground that keeps us together.

We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.

And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see – or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.

Give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.

Jesus lived a life that was full of joy and contradictions and fights, you know? If they were to paint a picture of Jesus without contradictions, the gospels would be fake, but the contradictions are a sign of authenticity.

I always tried to do things by example, even though I was not a very good mother regarding routines and family life.

The wild Indian power of escaping observation, even where there is little or no cover to hide in, was probably slowly acquired in hard hunting and fighting lessons while trying to approach game, take enemies by surprise, or get safely away when compelled to retreat.

I didn’t have a father figure in the house.

Most of us are raised to believe we are ordinary. The anchor of the universe is present in every child. A parent only needs to guide and step aside and let them fulfill their dharma. Help children remember that they can do or be anything.

Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It’s to see my dividends coming in.

Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one.

We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain.

He didn’t come out of my belly, but my God, I’ve made his bones, because I’ve attended to every meal, and how he sleeps, and the fact that he swims like a fish because I took him to the ocean. I’m so proud of all those things. But he is my biggest pride.

My friends ask me if I want more kids, and I always say yes, I want more; it’s the best thing you can have in your life.

I’ve got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.

I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left earlier they wouldn’t have to go so fast.

I love to dance, but my children tell me I shouldn’t. Can’t see why.

Allow children to be happy in their own way, for what better way will they find?

Tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sunbeams.

Children are our most valuable natural resource.

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.

I was very worried about my mother, growing up – a lot. I do not want my children to be worried about me.

Everything I do, I hope, is that I represent something, and I represent the right things to my children and give them the right sense of what they’re capable of and the world as it should be seen.

Please think of me like an endangered species and just observe me quietly from far away. If you try to talk to me or touch me casually, I may get intimidated and bite you. So please be careful.

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.

My ultimate life dream project is my kids. My family.

A tree’s a tree. How many more do you need to look at?

I absolutely adore Christmas.

Being a kid’s not easy. You’re transforming and becoming a human being. At some point, you have everyone taking care of you, and then, all of a sudden, you’re out in the world.

A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone.

Part of our tradition as black women is that we are universalists. Black children, yellow children, red children, brown children, that is the black woman’s normal, day-to-day relationship. In my family alone, we are about four different colors.

My daughter doesn’t even get my humor. She’s like, ‚Um, no. I don’t get it, Dad. Mmm, no, not that one, Dad.‘

Having a child, that’s always been my biggest fear. I want a child and I fear a child.

The ‚Billionaire‘ song is what my kids tease me with. They sing it to me. It’s funny.

O love, if I regret the age when one savors you, it is not for the hour of pleasure, but for the one that follows it.

Is solace anywhere more comforting than that in the arms of a sister.

Self-complacency is pleasure accompanied by the idea of oneself as cause.

Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.

To make your children capable of honesty is the beginning of education.

After momma gave birth to 12 of us kids, we put her up on a pedestal. It was mostly to keep Daddy away from her.

I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized, and I still had a daughter who I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

Nobody can ever make enough money for as many poor relatives as I’ve got. Somebody’s got a sick kid, or somebody needs an operation, somebody ain’t got this, somebody ain’t got that. Or to give the kids all a car when they graduate.

When I think of the love I feel for each member of our family, I sense, to a slight degree, the love that our Heavenly Father bears for His children.

Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.

My goal is just to be respected as a man when I walk down the street with my family. I don’t care what your job is, you’re not gonna talk down to me, you’re not gonna try to get a rise out of me. I’m a man first. And in establishing that, some interesting things have happened.

I’ve never understood why people consider youth a time of freedom and joy. It’s probably because they have forgotten their own.

Historically, the family has played the primary role in educating children for life, with the school providing supplemental scaffolding to the family.

The joys of parents are secret, and so are their grieves and fears.

According to Ethiopian custom, parents wait to name a baby because children often die in the first weeks of life.

All men are children, and of one family. The same tale sends them all to bed, and wakes them in the morning.

My dad had a church of 90 people when I was born. It was just, over the years it continued to grow.

See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise, you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.

If I were a woman, I would love to have lots of kids. But for men, I don’t believe in it.

I don’t know if I officially proofread my father’s book, but I read it. I did get some conception of grammar in general from that.

Just got back from a pleasure trip: I took my mother-in-law to the airport.

I’ve always felt heroic about my life… As a child, I remember little girls in the playground moaning about how boys could do more than they could. I didn’t think that was the case at all. My parents didn’t treat me as a girl.

I’ve been my mom’s kitchen helper since I was a little kid.