American Family Quotes and Sayings

From cradle to grave, there are amusing American family quotes and sayings about all stages of life. Some are funny and amusing, some poignant, some thought provoking.

Perspective: When you are a child of 10 - 30 seems old. When you are 30 - 50 seems old. When you are 50 - 70 seems old and 30 seems young, and so on. Are you as old as you feel? Some people who are young are called "old souls". Some people age but never grow up.
An elderly lady who was asked by a child if she was young or old said, "My dear, I have been young a very long time." (Author unknown)
"We are always the same age inside" Gertrude Stein
"We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves." May Lamberton Becker
"Oh, to be seventy again!" Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1931) upon seeing an attractive woman on his 90th birthday.

Understanding. Our western culture puts too much emphasis on being young and beautiful Instead of aging gracefully, we are told to fight it every step of the way with wrinkle creams, diets, plastic surgery and hair implants. With age comes wisdom, which is why older people probably tolerate the young. We need to teach our children the value of families and to respect their elders.
"People who don't cherish their elderly have forgotten whence they came and whither they go" Ramsey Clark.
Mortality. We have all heard that the only 2 certainties in life are death and taxes. All of us, except for Benjamin Button, grow from infancy (where we need diapers and help to walk) to old age (where we may need diapers and help to walk). The same joy and compassion we feel for small children should be how we feel when we see someone near the end of their life. After all, it is not the end destination, but the journey that counts.
"Life is like a role of toilet paper; hopefully long and useful, but it always ends at the wrong moment." Rudyh

One final quote, "Old age is like a bank account... you with draw from what you have put in. So my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories." Anonymous
Great advice for parents: keep a sense of humour and keep things in perspective. Family is the most important thing of all.