As many of you know, my grandmother had a big hand in raising me and was a woman I both admired and loved deeply. She was strong, independent, and full of fire, yet at the same time, had the biggest heart and would give the shirt off her back to help others. All the neighborhood kids loved to visit, especially when she was in a baking frenzy or when she had finished so carefully knitting dozens of various colored mittens. She kept us all fed and warm!
This past week, with the release of my new book (along with twenty-nine other superstars!), I’ve been doing a lot of reminiscing about the type of mother that I am and what I had hoped to achieve in this lifetime. A lot of memories related to my grandmother have been surfacing. She was the one who told me that I could do anything I wanted to in life – that I should let nothing stand in my way. She was also the one who believed I had a future in writing. I owe much of what I learned early on to my grandmother. She’d spend hours teaching me to write, spell, read, add, subtract…you name it.
Here are some other things my grandmother, Margaret Christine Davidson, used to say… Do any sound familiar? Share your personal story in the comments below!
“Never expect life to work out exactly how you planned for it has a mind of its own.” Boy, was she ever right. (from the book)
“You don’t need makeup. You’re naturally beautiful.” This one NEVER sank in – especially now that I’ve aged.
“The early bird gets the worm!” Yes it does!
“Things are going to hell in a handbasket!” She didn’t actually say this one to me – I overheard it many a time.
“Never leave the house without wearing clean underwear.” Never do!
“The lazy way is the hard way.” Absolutely!
“Dirty Lil’, Dirty Lil’, used to live on Garbage Hill. Never washed, never will, ha ha ha ha Dirty Lil’.” She used to sing this to me when I complained about having to bathe. And yes, we bathed. There was no standup shower in the farmhouse I grew up in.
“Don’t put that dirty spoon back into the mayo jar! You’ll poison us all!” Whaaat?! Why?!
“There are no ugly people; only ugly hearts.” This always makes me smile!
“Stop chewing like a cow!” Why thanks!
“When I was your age, I had to walk five miles to school – even in the pouring rain and snow.” And I had to stand a few minutes waiting for the bus to practically pick me up at the door.
“You’re holding your tongue the wrong way.” To this day, I practice this one! She believed that if you held your tongue another way, the outcome would be better.
