We’ve all been there as children and teenagers with parents yammering at us to do stuff, to not do other stuff, sit up straight, eat your vegetables, take out the garbage, yadda yadda yadda. Most of the things my parents said I believe came straight out of their parents’ mouths the generation before. A lot of it just made me snicker inside (I didn’t dare laugh out loud, it was more than my life was worth to do that) because it made no sense.
But one or two things stuck as valid and useful. My favorite at the moment, as I think back, is this:
“You’re not a guest in this house.”
I like this because it reminded me that I was not entitled to be waited upon by people who were both working for a living and working hard around the house. I had to do my share, at least in cleaning up after myself and helping with a few chores. I wonder how many kids these days hear this kind of message.
So what gems from your parents do you remember fondly? And incidentally, how old are you (I’m 65)?
I like it. I’m going to try this out on my 14 and 8 year old boys.
What stuck with me (as an adult) was: “Better to give with a warm hand…” when I was faced with some financial hurdle that my parents helped me out with. Googling it now I see that it is not an uncommon saying, but at the time it was new to me, and touched me as a gentle way to diffuse my embarrassment at needing to accept such a gift. I suspect there was some comfort for themselves in that phrase as well.
“A man will only do as much as you expect him to.”
Mom meant this in a sexist way but I think it applies to all people. Make your expectations clear and don’t get mad when people don’t go above and beyond.
I was probably 10 when my dad told me “There’s the Haves, and the Have-nots, and not much in the middle. And it’s going to get worse. Be one of the Haves.”
My father told me (and I think he was paraphrasing someone else): Paying down your mortgage early is almost never the best investment you can make, but I’ve never known someone who couldn’t sleep at night because he owned his own house.
Or when building something: We’re not building a pipe organ (that is, a certain amount of sloppiness is acceptable). He was actually pretty proficient working with wood, so I’m not sure how much that really applies to me.