It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn’t.

The line captures a central paradox of parenting: the ache of watching children move away from dependence—an experience that can feel like a series of small losses—while recognizing that this very growth is the desired, healthy outcome. The speaker’s wry logic (“quicker”) reframes grief as evidence of life and continuity: maturation hurts precisely because it means time is passing and relationships are changing, yet the alternative is unthinkable. The quote’s power lies in its compressed emotional honesty, balancing tenderness with dark humor to articulate how love makes parents vulnerable to both change and the fear of catastrophe.