Leo Tolstoy's Grocery List

Leo Tolstoy's wife finds his grocery list on the kitchen table:

"Bread—but what is bread, truly? Is it not the labor of the peasant, the sweat of the earth, the very soul of Russia ground between millstones of fate? Also milk. The milk reminds me of my childhood, of Masha, of mortality, of the infinite sadness of existence. Perhaps cheese. All happy families buy the same cheese; every unhappy family forgets to buy cheese in its own way. Eggs (6). Actually, make it a dozen, for who among us can predict the needs of tomorrow? War may come. Or peace. Or both."

His wife sighs and writes underneath: "Just get eggs."