Claire Messud Quotes

I think it's a tough road if you're a stay-at-home mom, a working mom, if you have a partner, if you don't. It's the best job in the world, and the toughest job in the world all at the same time.

The balancing act of motherhood and a career, and being a wife, is something that I don't think I'll ever perfect, but I love the challenge of it.

It's hard for anybody who works a lot and has children. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I think women often have problems with self-belief, which sounds a bit boring, but they do - and I think when women are bringing up children, it can be chronic, because you have all these other calls on your time.

I'm really glad I didn't have kids earlier, because I probably would have ignored them. I was so into my career. I could just go and play a ton of shows, night after night after night. I can't do that anymore.

I feel like I just want to enjoy life and spend time with my daughter who is about to turn two, which is full-time job and the hardest job I've ever had in my life.

However pragmatic you are, it is very demanding being a new parent.

I sort of spend every moment that I'm not working doing things with my son. You do the best you can, and you make the most of the time you have.

I haven't seen 'Room' yet. People tell me 'Room' is such an amazing film, but ever since I had a kid, I just can't. I can't do it. It's not fun. It's not a place I want to be.

I encourage women who are starting families to think about the five-year horizon. The first few years of parenthood are really hard, but if you stick it out, it gets easier.

We are all trying to balance our careers and children and give as much of ourselves and our time to them. You work and have a husband, and projects, and friends. It is a balancing act.

Well, I think anybody who's had a baby can tell you that once you have a baby, they kind of become the main focus. I don't think there's gonna be a lot of room for anything else.

At home, I'm lucky if I can write three or four hours before the phone starts ringing and the kids want to go to soccer.

Time becomes more precious when you have children.

There are so many ebbs and flows in life, but when you're raising small children, your family means everything.

I just didn't work that much while the kids were growing up.

When I hear that a project takes place out of town, the material better be terrific, and it has to come at the right time. My kids are getting older, so it's getting easier, but being a mother - it's a difficult thing to juggle.

I have not spent years in therapy; I tried therapy in my mid-twenties, and it did not go very well. I just thought, 'This is so not for me. I would rather talk to one of my girlfriends.' I'm not at a point in my life when I'm analyzing too much. I have young children, and I'm just pretty much crazed.

I don't see how a woman in documentary photography could have children. I think it's a very difficult thing to do to raise a family, and I have enormous respect for people who do it. I'd hate to do something like that and not be good at it.

Being a mother is quite tiring. There's not much time to do anything. You just rush around and it's hard work.

I don't have the luxury of sitting around any more. I must have had bags of spare time before I had children, but I don't know what I did with it and I didn't appreciate it. But it's such a terrific trade-off. I don't have time to get a pedicure, but I sure am happy. Who cares if your feet look bad?

You have to prioritize what you stress about when you have a child.

When I come home, it's about my kid, who needs to eat, needs to do homework, and needs to get to basketball. I don't have a lot of time to think about me.

I have my hands full with my kids and so romance is not high on my list of priorities.

If I can give you any advice, it's this: every hour that you spend sat on the couch doing nothing, put it to good use, because when you have kids, an hour is like a lifetime.