She feels, too, unbelievably tired, stymied by gravity; so much of motherhood has, for her, been this particular feeling, abject disbelief that she’s not only expected but obligated to do one more thing.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1 paragraph N/A)

Importance: These words describe Julia’s mental state right before she enters the empty nest stage of parenting. Her husband and both her children need her to be emotionally present. Her teenage daughter is struggling with her mood and temper, and her husband has birthday needs that Julia is trying to fulfill. She does not know it yet, but her adult son will soon come to tell her that he impregnated his girlfriend, and they are going to get married. Julia does not easily understand her emotions, so living in this family with all of its emotional entanglements is difficult for her at times.

Parenthood was a persistent cruelty, a constant, simultaneous desire to be together and...
-- Narrator (Chapter 2 paragraph N/A)