Mignon McLaughlin on Time

"How strange that the young should always think the world is against them when in fact that is the only time it is for them."

"The neurotic feels as though trapped in a gas-filled room where at any moment someone, probably himself, will strike a match."

"There is always some specific moment when we become aware that our youth is gone; but, years after, we know it was much later."

"The past is rich in lessons from which we would greatly profit except that the present is always so full of Special Circumstances."

"Women are good listeners, but it’s a waste of time telling your troubles to a man unless there’s something specific you want him to do."

"Your children tell you casually years later what it would have killed you with worry to know at the time."

"Neurotics think of the past with resentment, and the future with dread; the present just doesn't exist."

"Every day of our lives we are on the verge of making those changes that would make all the difference."

"There are so many things that we wish we had done yesterday, so few that we feel like doing today."

"I'm glad I don't have to explain to a man from Mars why each day I set fire to dozens of little pieces of paper, and then put them in my mouth."

"Neurotics would like to sleep all the time, and to be awakened only when there is good news."

"My doctor is nice; every time I see him, I’m ashamed of what I think of doctors in general."

"Many things can make you miserable for weeks; few can bring you a whole day of happiness."

"When a woman reaches forty, she must wait twenty years for her husband to catch up."

"Anything you do from the heart enriches you, but sometimes not till years later."

"One day you are an apprentice, and everybody's pet; the next, you are coldly expected to deliver. There is never sufficient warning that the second day is coming."

"If the pain wanders, do not waste your time with doctors."

"The time to begin most things is ten years ago."