art & life. you can't have mine.

I'm reading The Birth House, by Ami McKay and was stopped cold by this quote,

She holds the boys close to her every chance she gets. They wiggle and roll their eyes as she kisses the top of their messy heads. She sighs and lets them go, watching them run off to play. "Things aren't as certain as they used to be." She's not talking about their age or the fact that they're always outgrowing their shoes. It's the war, she means to say, but won't. It's the war that she's afraid of, that's got her wondering how long she can keep her boys at home, that has us listening to gossip and reading headlines and moving in circles, as if we might cast a spell of sameness to keep the rest of the world away.