Like Usha Vance, I too am a four-time subscriber to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Although I cannot truly claim to be a lifelong fan of her music. With all of the tributes, I am actually kind of surprised by how many of her songs I know. Growing up, it was the car rides and the old radio that sat on the whatnot shelf in the kitchen that delivered the airwaves of KNOD and her distinctive sound that I remember. Occasionally, we could even tune in WSM in the evenings on the AM dial and catch a tune or two. When I think of her music, it is not a particular song that comes to mind but more of a general fondness for a time long past. She was a true American icon and an unmatched ambassador of good. To help honor her, one of her quotes for each of the kiddos.
Lunch Box Quotes are notes I, with some help from the wife, include in the kids’ lunches every day. Since Number 1 is off in college, he gets a text, and Numbers 2-4 get handwritten napkins.
Visual credit to – Featured Image: Photo Credit: @roddreher
Quotes: @JeremyTate41 @readswithravi @future_of_music @thematrixwizard @mkhammer
Quotes:
1. “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” – Dolly Parton
2. “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton
3. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton
4. “If you see someone without a smile, give them yours.” – Dolly Parton
Bonus Quote: “Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen/ Pour myself a cup of ambition…” – Dolly Parton
Sources:
“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
RIP Dolly Parton
1946-2026 pic.twitter.com/q1Cqr7m1hP— Jeremy Wayne Tate (@JeremyTate41) August 25, 2026
RIP, Dolly Parton (1946-2026) 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/UYJ4951XG2
— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) August 25, 2026
As four-time subscribers to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and lifelong fans of her music, our family knows that Dolly Parton loved a good story. I hope that you’ll pick up a book and celebrate the magic of storytelling in her honor today.
— Second Lady Usha Vance (@SLOTUS) August 25, 2026
Rest in peace, Dolly Parton. pic.twitter.com/b6lwepgKxE
— ★ (@thematrixwizard) August 25, 2026
“Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen/ Pour myself a cup of ambition” is such a great lyric, such clever writing. https://t.co/yjBzKeNyv3
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) August 25, 2026
Maybe one way we can honor Dolly Parton’s memory is by following her advice:
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”— Future of Music Coalition (@future_of_music) August 25, 2026
This is where Dolly Parton came into this world and grew up. Her family was so poor that her father had to pay the doctor who delivered her with a sack of cornmeal. pic.twitter.com/f08woYZjcM
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) August 25, 2026