How awful it was, thought Tessa, remembering Fats the toddler, the way tiny ghosts of your living children haunted your heart; they could never know, and would hate it if they did, how their growing was a constant bereavement.

Summary

In this quote, the character Tessa reflects on the bittersweet experience of witnessing her children's growth. She describes it as "awful" because it reminds her of the passing of time and how it simultaneously fills her heart with joy and a sense of loss. Tessa refers to these conflicting emotions as "tiny ghosts" that linger in a parent's heart. She believes that her children, if aware of this feeling of constant bereavement, would find it burdensome, thus making the experience all the more complex and poignant.

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