Jesmyn Ward Quotes

There's something about being a parent that has, I think, made me a better comedian.

Having children makes you see the world in a completely different way. When you're responsible for those little lives, you can't slough it off or forget about it until later.

Fatherhood is a process you can't really express.

I think being a parent is the most challenging thing you do. That's why we're here. It's at the heart of what it is to be a human being. It's the ultimate experience because it questions everything about who you are. But it's difficult.

Fatherhood, both times for me, was a choice.

My father once said about being a parent that it is the only thing you do that requires a very long period of learning, and at about the time that you are becoming competent, you don't need the skills anymore. Notwithstanding this modest assessment of their parenting skills, they were wonderful parents.

It is always fragile, being a parent.

As a nonparent, I stand in awe of parents.

I married an excellent parent, but I'm not sure that I've made a great parent.

Fatherhood didn't change me in the beginning very much.

As a parent, I'd - I'd be a better father.

Once you have kids, you think like a parent. You get a lot more protective.

Parenthood is not an object of appetite or even desire. It is an object of will. There is no appetite for parenthood; there is only a purpose or intention of parenthood.

I have to keep reminding myself that I am their mother. Sometimes we are sitting at home and I feel like we are waiting for our mom to come home.

When you have children, your perspective on the parent-child relationship alters.

Fatherhood didn't just happen to me. I am deliberately living it, re-imagining it, and rediscovering it every day. It is as beautiful as I make it, just like anything else in life.

I'm not sure what it means fully to be a parent.

Let's be honest: Parents like me.

I'm terrified for what is in store for me as a parent!

When it comes down to it, I believe that, having made the decision to bring children into the world, I owe it to them to be as present as I can in their daily lives and to try my best to stay alive until they've made it through to adulthood.

You can become very serious as a parent. That's got to be fought against.

My father realizes that he did okay with me. He did the best he could.

No matter what, it is very tricky and difficult just to be a good parent at all. I have a lot of help. And for that I'm very grateful.

I regret not having had more time with my kids when they were growing up.

There is no greater name for a leader than mother or father. There is no leadership more important than parenthood.