In my planner, it just says "Words of Wisdom", so I'm not certain if I'm supposed to share my wisdom, or words of wisdom given to me along life's path...
I don't know. Neither option is good, really.
Most of the words of wisdom I got from my elders ran along the lines of practical knowledge, meant to keep me safe and help me along in the world. Besides the golden "treat others as you would want to be treated", I got things like this:
"Don't put your tongue on cold metal; it'll rip the hide right off it." (Standard wisdom that kids nearly always test, only to find out that it is indeed true.)
"If the fish aren't biting, use a chartreuse lure." (Grandpa Dutton)
"Use real butter and real vanilla, always." (Aunt Bert)
"Cut away from you. Remember Miles Phalen's missing eye? You don't want to end up like that." (A good threatening example that I never forgot.)
"When you're cooking, make enough for the group you have plus a couple extra. You never know when someone might drop by." (This happened fairly often, actually, and I still cook for six even when there's only four of us.)
"When someone asks you to dance, never turn them down. You don't know how much courage a guy has to get up to ask a girl to dance." (Dad)
"Don't go anywhere without a jug of water." (Everyone in Eastern Montana.)
"Dress in layers. You can always peel clothes off to get comfortable, but it's rough if you don't have any to put back on when it gets cold." (Again, everyone in Eastern Montana)
"Wait for the man to open your door and pull your chair out." (Both parents.)
"Be early for everything, at least 15 minutes." (Cardinal rule)
"File most recent to the top" (Mom)
And so forth...
I can tell you that I have no real wisdom myself, but have been carried through many years on the wisdom of others who were generous enough to share it with me. There's a lot of nonsense floating around, false fronts and empty platitudes that my kids are going to bump into. I hope I remember enough of these for them to hang on to as well!
No comments:
Post a Comment