Excerpts II
It's never something huge that changes everything, but instead the tiniest of details, irrevocably tweaking the balance of the universe while you're busy focusing on the big picture. (30)
...I always tried to imagine what it would be like to open your door to find something you had given up on. Maybe it h ad seen places you never had, been rerouted and passed through so many strange hands, but still somehow found its way back to you, all before the day even began. (35)
"The point...is that no word has one specific definition. Maybe in the dictionary, but not in real life." (66)
A lot can change between planning something and actually doing it. But maybe all that really matters is that anything is different at all. (124)
What is family? I'd written in my notebook that first day, and as I opened it up now I saw the rest of the page was blank, except for the definition I'd gotten from the dictionary: a set of relations, esp. parents and children. Eight words, and one was an abbreviation. If only it was really that easy. (161)
"But...even though you're stuck with [your family], at the same time, they're stuck with you. So that's why they always get the front rows at christenings and funerals. Because they're the ones that are there, you know, from the beginning to the end. Like it or not." (164)
"And the rest is history," I said.
"Nah." He shook his head. "The rest is now." (168)
"So what makes you give up the silent treatment? When do you decide to talk again?"
..."I guess when someone else does something worse. Then you need people on your side, so you make up with one person, just as you're getting pissed off at another."
"So it's an endless cycle," I said.
"I guess... Coming together, falling apart. Isn't that what families are all about?" (241)
"I want to give her a possibility...and that's what a key represents. An open door, a chance. You know?" (243)
But that was the thing about taking help and giving it, or so I was learning: there was no such thing as really getting even. Instead, this connection, once opened, remained ongoing over time. (269-70)
"... But that's just the thing, right? Family isn't something that's supposed to be static or set. People marry in, divorce out. They're born, they die. It's always evolving, turning into something else..." (287)
We all have one idea of what the color blue is, but pressed to describe it specifically, there are so many ways: the ocean, lapis lazuli, the sky, someone's eyes. Our definitions were as different as we were ourselves. (288)
All those names, strung together like beads on a chain. Coming together, splitting apart, but still and always, a family. (289)
"My point is, there are a lot of people in the world. No one ever sees everything the same way you do; it just doesn't happen. So when you find one person who gets a couple of things, especially if they're important ones...you might as well hold on to them. You know?" (312)
"Just remember: the heart! Start there, and you can't go wrong." (353)
It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching, and rarely discovered--so many locks, not enough keys. (365)
"But sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. Even if it's not what we want, at least it's something. You know?" (368)
Whenever something great happens, you're always kind of poised for the universe to correct itself. Good begets bad, something lost leads to found, and on and on. (376)
"You know... it's pretty rare to find someone you actually like to be with in this world. There are a lot of annoying people out there." (382-3)
...I kept thinking of this, the idea of distance and accomplishment. The further you go, the more you have to be proud of. At the same time, in order to come a long way, you have to be behind to begin with. In the end, though, maybe it's not how you reach a place that matters. Just that you get there at all. (387)
Watching them, I thought again of how we can't expect everybody to be there for us, all at once. So it's a lucky thing that really, all you need is someone. (400)
Needing was so easy: it came naturally, like breathing. Being needed by someone else, though, that was the hard part. But as with giving help and accepting it, we had to do both to be made complete--like links overlapping to form a chain, or a lock finding the right key. (401)
Looking down at the pond, all I could think was that it is an incredible thing, how a whole world can rise from what seems like nothing at all. (422)
And there you have it:
Lock and Key
...I always tried to imagine what it would be like to open your door to find something you had given up on. Maybe it h ad seen places you never had, been rerouted and passed through so many strange hands, but still somehow found its way back to you, all before the day even began. (35)
"The point...is that no word has one specific definition. Maybe in the dictionary, but not in real life." (66)
A lot can change between planning something and actually doing it. But maybe all that really matters is that anything is different at all. (124)
What is family? I'd written in my notebook that first day, and as I opened it up now I saw the rest of the page was blank, except for the definition I'd gotten from the dictionary: a set of relations, esp. parents and children. Eight words, and one was an abbreviation. If only it was really that easy. (161)
"But...even though you're stuck with [your family], at the same time, they're stuck with you. So that's why they always get the front rows at christenings and funerals. Because they're the ones that are there, you know, from the beginning to the end. Like it or not." (164)
"And the rest is history," I said.
"Nah." He shook his head. "The rest is now." (168)
"So what makes you give up the silent treatment? When do you decide to talk again?"
..."I guess when someone else does something worse. Then you need people on your side, so you make up with one person, just as you're getting pissed off at another."
"So it's an endless cycle," I said.
"I guess... Coming together, falling apart. Isn't that what families are all about?" (241)
"I want to give her a possibility...and that's what a key represents. An open door, a chance. You know?" (243)
But that was the thing about taking help and giving it, or so I was learning: there was no such thing as really getting even. Instead, this connection, once opened, remained ongoing over time. (269-70)
"... But that's just the thing, right? Family isn't something that's supposed to be static or set. People marry in, divorce out. They're born, they die. It's always evolving, turning into something else..." (287)
We all have one idea of what the color blue is, but pressed to describe it specifically, there are so many ways: the ocean, lapis lazuli, the sky, someone's eyes. Our definitions were as different as we were ourselves. (288)
All those names, strung together like beads on a chain. Coming together, splitting apart, but still and always, a family. (289)
"My point is, there are a lot of people in the world. No one ever sees everything the same way you do; it just doesn't happen. So when you find one person who gets a couple of things, especially if they're important ones...you might as well hold on to them. You know?" (312)
"Just remember: the heart! Start there, and you can't go wrong." (353)
It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching, and rarely discovered--so many locks, not enough keys. (365)
"But sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. Even if it's not what we want, at least it's something. You know?" (368)
Whenever something great happens, you're always kind of poised for the universe to correct itself. Good begets bad, something lost leads to found, and on and on. (376)
"You know... it's pretty rare to find someone you actually like to be with in this world. There are a lot of annoying people out there." (382-3)
...I kept thinking of this, the idea of distance and accomplishment. The further you go, the more you have to be proud of. At the same time, in order to come a long way, you have to be behind to begin with. In the end, though, maybe it's not how you reach a place that matters. Just that you get there at all. (387)
Watching them, I thought again of how we can't expect everybody to be there for us, all at once. So it's a lucky thing that really, all you need is someone. (400)
Needing was so easy: it came naturally, like breathing. Being needed by someone else, though, that was the hard part. But as with giving help and accepting it, we had to do both to be made complete--like links overlapping to form a chain, or a lock finding the right key. (401)
Looking down at the pond, all I could think was that it is an incredible thing, how a whole world can rise from what seems like nothing at all. (422)
And there you have it:
Lock and Key
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