The other day it occurred to me that I may be slowly turning into my parents.
As a teenager, I swore this would never happen, but as I grow into adulthood I feel this may be inevitable.
For example, I noticed recently that I am starting to use many of the sayings that my parents always said. This has been in the making for many years now, but with each year, I feel like I am losing the battle a little more. I can only imagine when we have kids some day, how many more things I will be saying.
One day way back in 2000, when Eric I are were in our first year of dating, I remember saying to him, ‘Catch ya later, I’m off like a herd of turtles.’
And then he looked at me, puzzled.
‘Like a herd of turtles?’
‘Ummm…yea. It’s just a saying..meaning, ‘I’m off, but not quickly’, I made slow, awkward turtle movements, followed by more puzzled looks. ‘I can’t believe you’ve never heard of that saying before!’, I laughed at him like he was the weird one, but secretly, I knew I was.
‘Nope, never heard of it…’ His eyes darted for the nearest exit.
Here we are 11 years later and I’m pretty sure it was my quirky, strange sayings that convinced him he couldn’t live without me. I know I said it was these cookies, but it was probably a bit of both. Eric loves to tease me about my dorky sayings (and this is coming from a Computer Science major who got 90’s in his courses!), but luckily, I have my share of teasing material too. Even though he doesn’t play World of Warcraft anymore, I will never let him live it down.
As the years go by, I find myself saying more and more things that my parents always said. I even chuckle to myself as I say them, as if I totally forget how I used to roll my eyes at my parents when they said them.
My dad’s sayings:
1. If you keep throwing dirt you’re gonna lose ground.
[I can’t say this and not laugh.]
2. I turned around and there he was…gone!
[My dad met someone in Newfoundland who said this, and he loved it so much he said it all the time.]
3. If a jobs worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
[My dad said this about EVERYTHING.]
4. Nobody goes there any more, it’s too crowded.
[No words.]
5. I used to walk for 2 hours in 6 feet of snow to get to school.
[Lies, lies!]
6. If you eat your veggies, it will put hair on your toes.
[Ummm…and he wondered why I fed them to our dog?]
My Mom’s sayings
1. There’s no peace for the wicked.
[Does my mom think I’m wicked? Does she think she’s wicked?]
2. Some day, your face is going to freeze that way!
[Traumatizing to any child, especially when you live in a cold climate.]
3. A little birdy told me.
[My mom often said this when she busted me for misbehaving and I demanded to know how she found out.]
4. I’m going to give you until the count of three. ONE, ONE and a QUARTER, ONE and a HALF, ONE and THREE QUARTERS, TWO, TWO and a QUARTER, TWO and a HALF, TWO and THREE QUARTERS, TWO and FOUR FIFTHS….ANGELA……
[bahaha. Classic. Oddly, I find myself saying this to Sketchie.]
5. Because I said so.
[Quite possibly the most infuriating thing a parent can say to a child.]
6. Money doesn’t grow on trees.
[Ok, I guess she totally wins this one.]
7. Don’t make me come in there
[My parents usually said this when my sister and I were fighting.]
8. Life isn’t fair.
[Usually said to me when I was grounded.]
9. Don’t go out with wet hair, you’ll catch pneumonia.
[I think I said this to Eric the other day. It was not a proud moment.]
10. When you’re the Mother, then you can be the boss.
[Sorta true, I guess…hahaha.]
11. I will turn this car right around.
[The frequently said threat when my sister and I fought in the backseat of the car, but I don’t think they ever did once turn around…]
12. If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?
[When you are a teenager, the common answer to this is YES (purely out of spite). This does not make the parent any happier.]
13. Hi HUNGRY, I’m Mom. OR Hi BORED, I’m Mom.
[The reply when I would complain that I was hungry/bored. Quite possibly the second most infuriating saying.]
The other day on Twitter, I asked you what sayings your parents always said and if there were any that you now say yourself. The responses that I received were hilarious, so I thought the topic would make a fun Daily Glow post. :)
What things did your parents say to you? Do you find yourself using any of them?
My mother ALWAYS said to me “Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” I find myself saying it all the time too. My fiance just rolls his eyes at me, lol!
Haha! Iconic parent-isms. My dad is a fan of “Remember you’re a Kinkel,” when I went out with friends. It was a simple reminder to behave in a way to make the family proud. Or at the very least, not embarrassed to claim me. My mother and grandmother always say, “If it’s meant to be…” it will happen that way. Wise words.
Hahaha, these are too cute! My mom always used to say, “Tough cookies!”
My mom and her mother would always refer to long expanses of time as a coon’s age – as in, “I ran into so-and-so the other day – I haven’t seen them in a coon’s age.” I hated this saying when I grew up – it sounded so hick and back-country – nothing in keeping with the sophisticated 2,000 population rural Iowa town we lived in. ☺ Now, I find myself using this saying every once in a while.
Another saying I use now that I got from my dad was to refer to something in really bad shape as resembling “five miles of bad road.” My husband gets a real kick out of it when I use this phrase.
When speaking of the inevitability of death, my mom always said: “When it’s your time to go, you can drown in a tablespoon of mayonaise.”
Strange.
Me: Dad, why do birds not fly into each other?
Daddo: SLARP.
Me: (confused look) Umm what?
Daddo: SLARP!
Me: Dad, com’on. Just tell me!
Daddo: Sounds Like A Research Project to me!
Soo annoying but now I think it’s funny! :) Now I see it was because he had no clue!!!
I also hear from my mom (still to this day) “Good girl dry panties”. It was something her parents used to say to her when she was a baby and she wouldn’t soil herself. :P
Ha, amazing! My parents totally did the “If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” and “Because I said so”. Also there was a lot of “As long as you’re living under this roof, you’re living by my rules”.
My favorite is the “Hi Hungry, I’m Mom”. My Dad alllways used to do this when I said “I’m Thirsty”. He would go “Hi Thirsty ( but would pronounce it like ‘Thursday’), I’m Friday, Come over to my house on Saturday, we’ll have a Sunday!” He thought he was the funniest. Which he is. Aw, parents :)
I also remember the “Hi Thursday (thirsty), I’m Friday…” Do parents take a class in these sayings?
My mom’s favorite saying is “Be the ball!” before a sporting event. She changes it to meet any need such as “be the running shoes”!
o man these are hilarious! I’m korean so the ones I grew up with don’t necessarily make sense when I translate them!
I live in halifax, and I’ve definitely heard the ‘i turned around and there he was…gone’ quote a billion times
I hear my mother jump out of my mouth constantly.
Some of my favorites:
1. You have to be a wee bit crazy to be normal…I’m just really normal.
2. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. (about alternatives to doing things)
3. Your friend “Mama Pea” “Oh She Glows” “Then Heather Said”. (Momma reads my blog and calls all the bloggers I talk about by your blog names :-) )
haha that’s cute
These are classic, Angela! I love them!
Walking a hundred miles to school, uphill both ways, against the wind both ways, in snow drifts all year long…is how my parents made their way to school.
And also when you live under your own roof you can make your own rules.
If your friend Suzy jumped off a bridge, would you?
Worry about what you’re doing, not what Jane is doing. (true!)
Love your list! :)
Several of yours hold true to my parent’s sayings but I loathed this one:
You know I only did that because I love you – (spanked/grounded)
Of course my thought was always “if you loved me you wouldn’t do that”. I too find myself saying a lot of the same things to my kids..eeekkkk!
My mom also said # 7 and 11 ALL THE TIME! hahaha
This is hilarious and addicting to read!
My husband (gets it from his parents) when I say Hey! to something he says
“Hay is for horses, sheep are for cows” what!?. Anyone got and explanation for that one!
Funny! Mine said a variation “hay is for horses and cows, pigs don’t eat it because they don’t know how”. Lol, crazy!
My mom/dad said a lot of the same things when I was a kid, and I’m sure do use them or will when I have kids. Right now though, my husband is always commenting I speak just like my mom in tone and actions- it’s pretty scary how those things get passed on.
This is so cute! My mother (who is British), always says “Gordon Bennett!” when she’s exasperated. I assumed it was because she didn’t want to say “God” but this post inspired me to Google it – turns out, it’s actually an expression. How about that!
My Grama was the one with all the sayings — which my sister and I call “Elsie-isms” ! Our 2 favourites are : ” a poor workman blames his tools” – said to us when as kids and teens we complained about how a sewing, drawing, cooking project was not going well because our pencil broke or the blender didn’t work or the needle pricked our finger: and, “self praise is no reccomendation” which reminded us that having others say nice things about us was always better than bragging. I have often used these both in jest and to make a point with colleagues and friends — and yes some of them think I’m weird!
Whenever we would walk out the door, my Dad would tell us, “Don’t put beans up your nose!” The meaning is that we should keep out of trouble. He would also say, “Remember who you are”, which was a way of saying not to do things we shouldn’t do when we’re away from home. Along those same lines, he often says in Heaven he wants “no empty chairs”, meaning that he wants all 6 of his children and my mother with him forever because he loves his family.