“Tibby, who was not fond of change, had once told Bridget that the present, no matter what it brought, couldn't change the past. The past was set and sealed.”

“The present no matter what I brought couldn’t change the past. The Past was set and sealed.”

“It isn't what you did in the past that will affect the present. It's what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.”

“Time is there for a purpose, to keep things in order. Once you change chronology you change history. The past could eat up the present . . .”

“The present doesn’t change the past. Is the fact that the past happened enough to make the present good? Is the past real? Was it real anymore?”

“She often told her children that they couldn't change the past and they couldn't jump forward to the future. All they had was today, and they needed to live it in such a way that they wouldn't create just another regretted yesterday. Mourning the past was never productive-she knew this full well.”