Love that story @maya54
I often said to the kids, “You don’t get to choose your parents”.
Meant to elicit compassion for others and get them to think about luck — good and bad — involved in life.
You either have time to do it right or time to do it over.
Judge Judy, courtesy of her father: Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.
I just thought of another one I heard often as a kid “One hand washes the other, but both hands wash the face.”
When mom is happy, everyone is happy.
And the inverse to that - you are only as happy as your least happy child
I’ve heard:
When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!
- Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument.
- Good things come to those who work their *sses off and never give up.
One of the sayings upstream reminded me of this one, which I don’t agree with but thought was funny: “The only person who wants a husband is someone who’s never had one.”
“Worry is not preparation.” It’s a phrase I use a lot to remind myself (and my anxiety-prone college kid) that obsessing over all the things that can go wrong does not actually accomplish anything and often just uses up time and energy that would be better invested in actual preparation.
One of my favorite sayings ever came from a friend’s elderly grandma, who was watching some kids misbehave: “Raisin’ kids is like growin’ tomatuhs — sometimes ya just gotta pinch they little heads off before they get outta control.”
Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child.
My grandma would warn about certain people: never turn your back on a rattlesnake.
“People in glass houses should not throw stones”.
My grandfather used to say… “don’t touch a pile of dried crap, and it ain’t going to stink.”
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. - Mom
Know what you want - you’ll have a much better chance of getting it.
In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king. (No one has perfect knowledge so don’t wait for it, just roll with what you have and learn on the way.)
“I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know.” Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
“You’ve got champagne tastes on a beer budget” - meaining you want something that costs more than you have. I can remember my grandmother saying this to all three of her kids (my mom and her brother and sister) when they would complain about the high cost of something they really wanted.
Fair is rarely simple, simple is rarely fair.
Related to the above, my dad used to tell us that “Fair is actually the real 4-letter F word.”
Reminds me of the Eartha Kitt song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1NrZgtPkFc
Here’s one I dislike:
Bloom where you’re planted
I see that on CC every so often; it sets my nerves on edge!