Flashback Friday ~ “Because I SAID So…”

I have to tell y’all that I love this weeks prompt from Mocha with Linda!

What sort of sayings, colloquialisms, or proverbs did your family say when you were growing up?

My grandmother, y’all I miss her so much sometimes!!!!!

She had one expression that stands out in my my mind. I may have even shared it with all of y’all before, but it is worthy of repetition.

I can just hear her now “You want what you want when you want it!  When you get what you want, you don’t want what you want, but you want what you want when you want it!”

Now Grandma was by far indulgent, the practice of going out and picking my own switch off the tree on more than a few occasion will attest to her firm hand. She also was wonderfully generous in her own special way. I remember her sliding the random slice my way as she peeled peaches for our desert after supper. I remember there was always a cold green glass bottle of seven-up in the refrigerator, vanilla ice cream in the freezer, a tootsie pop from the corner grocery store and modeling clay in the basement.

My mom, on the other hand used to say “You have to do the have to’s before you can do the want to’s!”  In looking back this my be an abbreviated and modified from the aforementioned Grandma-isim.

When were they used?

The two statements were bandied about during those enviable moments which began with “Mom/Grandma can I…”

What do you find yourself saying that you vowed you would never say?

I can think of many things that I have tried to avoid that fall under the category of  “When I’m a mom I’ll never …”, but in all honest I have heard myself say both of these two statements. I will share it is with a sweet memory when I think of my grandma.

The reality is that truth is truth. I really do think your should accomplish the have to’s before you can move on to the want to’s. Or at least you should strive for that goal! It makes the want to’s so much more enjoyable in my opinion when they are not burdened by the loose ends of things that are waiting for you when you get back!

What do you say that drives your kids nuts?

My parental philosophy: Never say yes when a firm maybe will do! The DD is constantly whining about my inevitable “We’ll see” or “Maybe!” and I get the ever popular “You always say that and then we never do it!”

Is there a regional aspect to your speech?

Hey there Y’all, I’m a southern girl all the way.

It didn’t start out that way but after 4oish years well there is no turning back! I do have one very distinct memory of coming home from school shortly after our move from down from Ohio. I came and told my mother that I was having a hard time understanding my teacher.

I asked my mom, “What’s a DAAAAAAWGA?”

It was all downhill after that. Having a pliable young mind my Yankee ways were quickly replaced by my slow and drawn out southern lilt!

Do you have an accent and were you ever teased about it?

I don’t recall ever being teased about my southern drawl, I do remember my grandpa being very intrigued by the differences in our speech when we would go up for visits over summer vacation.

I don’t actually remember this but when I was a toddler my grandfather taught me to count backwards from 10 in honor of the Mercury Astronauts. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…BLAST OFF!” and then he would pick me up and lift me into the air like I was taking off into space just like John Glenn! I have a vague memory of sitting on his lap watching a lift off on television and him counting down along with the television announcer. 

When my sister and me would go up for summer vacations I remember my Grandpa saying “Count to ten for me, I’ll give you a dollar!” Obediently we would lay on our thickest southern drawl and give it all we had. “Wooonaa, Tuaa, threaaeee, fowrea, fiiive….” and so on and then pop our little hands out to receive a silver dollar or sometimes four quarters!

Gotta love grandma and grandpa!

Gotta love Mocha with Linda for Flashback Friday! Y’all head over and join in on the fun!

Blessings

R