Cynthia Gunderson > Quotes

“It's only nine o'clock, and being tucked into bed with a book before ten feels like the ultimate indulgence.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“It's not that I don't want to be happy, I do. But the happiness- That's what hurt so much when I lost it.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, The Hot Shot

“You don't have to earn the right to be valued. And you don't have to save enough people, cook enough dinners, or not screw up your son enough, or anything else to be allowed to be happy.
Trust me. I've done the math. I tried for years to make up for things my family blamed me for, and it doesn't add up. Then I tried to earn it in my relationships and that was a hot mess. It will never be enough.”
― Cynthia Gunderson

“I didn't realize how important touch was. Like, not just romantic touch. We talk about it in reference to ICU palliative, and end-of-life care-
Oh, totally. It's one of the first things you notice. The residents who get regular, intentional contact--hand-holding, a hand on the back, even just helping them sit up without rushing. Their baseline anxiety drops. You can see it in their breathing. Slower. Less shallow.
Co-regulation.
One of my professors talked about it like an adjunct. Not the main intervention, but something that supports everything else. Pain management improves.
Because their nervous system isn't in full threat mode," I say. "Less cortisol more parasympathetic activation.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“His arm curled around her waist like a snap bracelet and pulled her flush against his body. She’d barely processed her sudden change of location when Tyler tipped her chin up. Without a word, he slipped his fingers down the side of her neck and kissed her.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Against the Boards

“There's a specific kind of quiet that only exists at the end of a long night shift. It's a soft hum, a unique frequency.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“When you're doing something new, your brain has to work harder. It's processing more information, forming new memories, paying attention in a way it doesn't during routine. Sometimes in the moment, it can feel overwhelming or fast, because there's so much input. But when you look back on it, it feels longer. Fuller. Because your brain recorded more.
That's why childhood summers feel endless.
Exactly. Everything is new. Every day is distinct. As adults, we fall into patterns, and time compresses because our brains stop differentiating one day from the next.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“Never trust a man who says he doesn't dance. He dances, he's just saving it for someone, so make sure it's you.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Cabin Fever

“You're the most hopeful person I know, Mace. You're willing to suffer for years because you give people the benefit of the doubt. We only want you to figure out what you want-to take what you want. To know that you're worth more than what some deadbeat guy who refuses to get in his car and drive more than once a week is willing to give you.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“I’m good in a crisis. It's regular life that's scarier.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“I have a rule about not going inside people's childhood homes. It's nothing laminated or stuck to my fridge, but it sits between "don't text your ex after midnight" and "never rewatch your video messages." There's just something too intimate about stepping into the place that made someone. Like sneaking in and reading their diary.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, The Hot Shot

“I don't know. I get that people talk about phones being like heroin or something, but they're not going anywhere. When kids turn eighteen, are they just going to go from nothing to unlimited phone use and somehow know how to handle it? I don't know anything about parenting, but I do remember what it felt like to be that age. I felt so grown up.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, The Hot Shot

“I look back at my friends, chatting with other members of our group, and swell to the brim with gratitude. How did I get so lucky to have two of the three?
So, my life isn't perfect. The romance side of things is a bit of a mess, but I've been so focused on that for the past three months that I've missed out on the incredible relationships I do have”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“I thought we were supposed to have our lives together by the time we were thirty?”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“Comedy as a deflection from being vulnerable. My personal superpower.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“Sometimes you don't need a long history of making choices to know when one of them is right.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“Gaudreau should've passed. He had Tkachuk wide open on the left.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Against the Boards

“It's hard to really ever know people. How can you ever be sure?”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Cabin Fever

“You can learn a lot about someone when you watch them wait. Some people pace. Some scroll. Some hover as if they might bolt if the wrong person looks at them.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, The Hot Shot

“I've been walking through life half empty. Learning to be satisfied with it because acknowledging what I wanted hurt too much when I couldn't have it”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Cabin Fever

“My folks worked like their lives depended on it. Because they did, and I love them for it. They're the reason I know how to work hard. But a kid doesn't understand payroll. A kid understands that the lights are off again, so I got very good, very young at being the kind of kid other families like having around.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Cabin Fever

“Charm is a skill you learn when you can't afford for people to stop inviting you to dinner.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Cabin Fever

“I wonder if our most empty parts can't be fully stitched up by ourselves. And not because we need someone to love our brokenness away, though that certainly couldn't hurt But because it's the act of opening our hearts to love someone else, even when they hurt us, that provides the balm”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Cabin Fever

“If they just moved here, it's no surprise they don't have a great network yet. Guys are notoriously bad at making friends unless they're forced to.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, The Hot Shot

“When your life starts to fall apart, you second-guess everything, including your own version of reality. Your own sense of self. It's easy to believe that if everything else is wrong, maybe I'm wrong. I need some stable ground to work from.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“You take care of people all day, but you won't let people take care of you. It's selfless and compassionate.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“What do I want? Thinking about that feels dangerous, precarious, and a dreadful thought lodges itself in my head. Do I take care of others' needs because I don't know how to take care of my own? Am I too afraid to want things that I don't believe I'll ever get?”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Pier Pressure

“When I first started improving at pickleball, I was shocked at the reaction from the male players around me. Not all of them, but enough that I seriously questioned whether I would continue playing. Either they continued to treat me like I wasn't capable of handling my own side or they closed off when I beat them. Those friendships, and even some potential romantic relationships, I thought I had? Gone. As soon as they weren't better than I was”
― Cynthia Gunderson, The Hot Shot

“I think people just like being disappointed in nice things”
― Cynthia Gunderson, Cabin Fever

“The urge to say something inspiring or somehow reassure him that it will be okay hits, but I swallow it. I hate when people do that. Sure, people are resilient and time does dull old wounds, but telling someone to look at the bright side is almost never the right answer in my experience. Even though I tend to be a "bright side" person.”
― Cynthia Gunderson, The Hot Shot