10 Quotes by Anne Youngson

For me, the house and all its contents are like the mud collecting on my boots as I walk the dog round the fields in a rainy season. Holding me back, weighting me down, limiting how far I can travel.

But I do not mind. I am like a man standing on a shore watching people he loves rowing a boat. As long as they are safe in the boat, nothing else is so important.

I was irritated by the simplicity of my mother’s view of the world when I was younger, but now that I know how hard it is to keep upright, cheerful, balanced, and in control, which is expected of us as adults, I can appreciate the mechanisms she used to achieve this.

We should look inside ourselves for fulfillment. It is not fair to burden children or grandchildren with the obligation to make us whole. Our obligation to them is to make them safe and provide them with an education. Karin can do that alone, if she chooses. She owes no one anything else. She owes it to herself to do what is best for her. When I had said this, Mary kissed me. I can’t remember the last time she did that. Or the last time I enjoyed a conversation more.

The sky was magnificent. I have always loved the sky and I do not take notice of it often enough.

We may want to be other than we are, but we do not want to unsettle the opinion people have already formed; maybe to replace it with a lesser opinion.

Our letters have meant so much to us because we have both arrived at the same point in our lives. More behind us than ahead of us. Paths chosen that define us. Enough time left to change.

I can see that living alone, as you do, leaves empty space around you, and that can feel lonely. Living together with other people, as I do, can feel lonely, too.

I understand now that loneliness is worse if there are people about than if there are not.