My favorite expression to this day was one my dad used to great effect: if a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his ass. I think of that almost every day.
I’m 41.
If you’re going to do something, do it right.
I’m 31
If you don’t stop doing ____ I’m going to rip your arm off and beat you with the bloody stump. Mid 40’s and to this day, I won’t watch slasher movies.
From my grandpa, concerning not messing with things that aren’t yours:
“You look with your eyes, not with your hands.”
From my dad concerning keeping some things private:
“You don’t have to tell people everything you know.”
“If you fly with the crows you’re gonna get shot at.”
I’ve always remembered that, not that it ever stopped me.
Don’t believe anything you hear; and only half of what you see.
If the dog didn’t stop to take a shit he would’ve caught the rabbit.
Don’t ever lose your sense of humor.
“Fool’s names and fool’s faces
Are always found in public places.”
~~My Old Man
Many many years ago I was with my mom and we drove past a trailer park and I asked her why these people live in trailers but have Corvettes parked out front and she said something I’ll never forget (and still repeat) “Everyone spends their money differently”. She went on to explain that maybe they live in a trailer SO they can afford a nice car and gave an example of how we go out to eat often and take one vacation a year and our good family friends almost never go out to eat but take three or four vacations a year.
A few weeks ago my mom was driving me home from surgery and we drove past a trailer park (might have even been the same one) and I started telling her about when she told me that story. I got to the part about the Corvettes and she said ‘well, everyone spends their money differently’.
From my dad: Never talk about religion, money or politics. It’s a good way to piss off half the people. This was business advice, but it’s good life advice as well. I find myself biting my tongue a lot when I hear people spouting off, what I consider to be, ignorant crap. I mean, why jump in and try to correct them when it’s just going to mean getting into an argument with some random person who’s mind I won’t change and who I’ll never see again.
My dad told me, when I happened to be listening, “happiness is not a state of mind, it’s a way of life”. It stuck and it’s helped me often.
My father:
*“You’ll always be a bum; you’ll never amount to anything. I can’t believe you’re my son.”
*
Who says words don’t hurt?
:(You are useless
Every parent is a rookie.
“Only boring people get bored.”
“A person who will hit a dog will hit a child.”
“Stop being so bossy.”
My father has always been the type to be impressed with financially successful people. He said this to me when I was 19. I had just met a girl and was telling my parents about her.
For me that phrase has pretty much defined how I look at my father and it has stayed with me ever since.
I am 46.
Let’s see…
My dad: “Don’t ever apologize for anything unless you really mean it. People will know when you’re full of shit, and they won’t respect that.”
My mom: “There’s always going to be someone out there smarter than you, stronger than you, faster than you. You need to concentrate on being the best you that you can be, not trying to be better than someone else.”
My grandfather: “Don’t ever start fights, but if you’re in one, make sure and finish it.” and something that I don’t remember the exact wording for, but it was along the lines of there being no shame in getting your ass kicked for standing up for yourself/what you believe.
My dad drilled into my head to “conduct yourself in a manner that is above reproach at all times.”
I’m 41.
From my dad -
“If its already broken, you can’t make it worse by trying to fix it” - of course, he regretted that later as the house burned down, but, the philosophy is still sound.
From my mom -
“You were a pill baby”
I’m 58.
Regards,
Shodan
My mom told us you should be at least as polite and kind to the people you live with as the ones you don’t, if not more so.
From my dad I got, “Never play poker with a man named Doc.”
From my Mom, and her mother - “Many hands make light work”.
A good example is cleaning up after a Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone would kick in and go into overdrive. In about 30 minutes, all done. It taught good skills about working as a team.
I’m 54