Dan Simmons. Hyperion (№ 252219)

... the essence of human life lies not in the so-called commemorative days like weddings and triumphs, which stuck in the memory like dates circled in red on old calendars, but, rather, in the monotonous flow of everyday events: a weekend when every family member is busy with his own Affairs, casual encounters, trifling conversations, which are immediately forgotten... but the amount of these watches represents something very important and eternal.