The dangerous falls were the ones that happened so fast you didn't have time to react
Jeannette WallsThings usually work out in the end." "What if they don't?" "That just means you haven't come to the end yet.
Jeannette WallsNobody's perfect. We're all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels.
Jeannette WallsThe way Mom saw it, women should let menfolk do the work because it made them feel more manly. That notion only made sense if you had a strong man willing to step up and get things done, and between Dad's gimp, Buster's elaborate excuses, and Apache's tendency to disappear, it was often up to me to keep the place from falling apart. But even when everyone was pitching in, we never got out from under all the work. I loved that ranch, though sometimes it did seem that instead of us owning the place, the place owned us.
Jeannette WallsOne time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it up and replant it near our house. I told Mom that I would protect it from the wind and water it every day so that it could grow nice and tall and straight. Mom frowned at me. "You'd be destroying what makes it special," she said. "It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty.
Jeannette Walls