Pass it Down

When I was a little girl, my Gramma and my Great Gramma had all these sayings that would make me laugh. Everytime one would leave their mouth I swore I would never be so old as to say something like that. I have noticed in the last bit, that I  am now, apparently, that old. It sucks, but at the same time it's kind of cool. I seem to say them involuntarily, and it takes me a good minute to realize that it was me that said it. I was sure those words of wisdom would go to the grave with the generations before me, never to be uttered again, turns out they will live on, and eventually, everyone gets as old as their grandmothers and mothers once were. Here's an example:


Q: What's for dinner?
A: Pig shit and apple sauce.
That was the answer every single time we asked Gramma what she was cooking. Everytime, without fail.

"Land sakes" My Gramma and Great Gramma said this in exasperation over everything that wasn't quite right.

"Landagoshen" My great Gramma said this all the time, and the few times I met my Great, Great Grandma she said it too. I used to think it was "Atlantic Ocean" she was saying although that didn't make any sense either. I have since learned that the "Land Of Goshen" is a biblical reference.  "land o' Goshen look at my hair!"  is one of three memories I have of my great, great, grandma, mostly because she said it while looking at her 95 year self in the mirror, and there was hardly any hair to see. It just stuck in my three-year-old mind. (And just to note, I am not so old I say this one, yet!)

"I'm going to bed so you people can leave"  We used to play Scrabble with my great gramma for hours and when she got tired that's what she'd say. I have been know to say this after too many drinks and there's no end in sight to the company.

"Hush the bears will get thee" Nothing gets a kid to settle down for sleep faster than that. Unless your Toby. My Grammas always used this when we talked to much or wouldn't settle down for sleeping. I say it to Toby and, you guessed it, "What bears? where are the bears? they're in the house? MO-OM what bears? will you shoot them!!??" until you want to smother yourself with the pillow to make it stop.

"Wash your face or the elves will take you away in the night" I used to go to bed with a dirty face on purpose hoping it was true. Elves were not threatening to me. Gorrilla's sneaking into my room at night, on the other hand, were.

There is so many more that I can't think of at the moment. I always draw a blank when I try to hard to remember things. Got a favorite saying from your grandmas? I'd love to hear it!