If you have kids under the age of five, you probably have
books filled with memorable quotes that your kids have said, like I do. Yeah, I totally don’t. I am the mom who documents almost nothing in
my kids’ childhoods, save the twelve thousand pictures my husband has taken of them that threaten to overtake our home. Little
kids are quote machines; everything that exits their mouths is utterly
share-worthy and worth preserving, or so it seems on Facebook. Because I have no files of my kids’ quotes
when they were small, and the memorable things that come out of their mouths
these days are usually of the “YOU ARE THE WORST MOTHER EVER” variety, I have
little to share of these types of things.
So I will share some quotes that appeal to my sensibilities. Don’t
ask me to tell you Who Said That a week from now. Odds are I have to look it up, as I had to do
with some of these memorable quotes I’m about to lay out here. I said I'm not good at this.
“Learn everything
you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time
when you will be grateful you did.” – Sarah Caldwell. Now, I don’t know who Sarah Caldwell is, nor
did I know this quote before I read it on a poster in my son’s middle school a
month or so ago. That probably tells you
more about me than the fact that I like the quote does, but whatever. I fully subscribe to the mentality behind
this quote, which basically says “Don’t be too proud to pass up any opportunity
to learn something from anyone, because someday you’ll kick yourself for being
so stupid.” Maybe Sarah Caldwell wishes
she had said that instead.
“I don’t look as dumb as I am!!” – My little
brother, circa 1984. My little brother, 7 years my junior, confused
the wording of the oldie but goodie “I’m not as dumb as I look” and spouted
this attempt at a verbal smack-down to my older brother and I, who were
probably torturing him with Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. I forget the details of what happened that
day, but I will never forget this quote, which still makes me cackle.
“If it is possible, as far as it depends
on you, live at peace with everyone.” – The Bible, New Testament, Romans 12:18 (New International Version). I mean,
you can’t really get clearer than this, can you? Plus it’s from God, so it’s a command. The part that I love is “as far as it depends
on you.” Come on world, get it together man.
“Though we adore men individually, we agree
that as a group they’re rather stupid.” – Mrs. Banks (from Mary Poppins). As an
aside, I loved this movie when I was a kid.
Something about Mary Poppins and her no-nonsense confidence made me wish
not that I had a nanny like her, but that I was
her. Maybe that’s why I’m a little
bit of a neat freak. Or why I own so
many high-collared Victorian dresses.
Either way, this quote (which is a line from ‘Sister Suffragette,’ a
song in the movie) always stood out to me, even though MP didn’t say it. Seriously, though.
“There
are three types of people in the world: people that make things happen, people
who watch things happen, and people who stand around and say, ‘What the heck
just happened?’” – Mary Kay Ash (paraphrased). My
senior class quote. I spent so much time trying to get out of school my last year of high school that I completely missed the process
by which this quote became significant to our class, which solidifies my membership
in category #3 here.
“You are/he is/she is busier than a one-legged
man in an ass-kicking contest.” – Unknown. This is more of an idiom than a
quote, but damn if I don’t love saying this, particularly when observing my friends
who have many children to parent. I
always laugh after saying it; they don’t.
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This post inspired by:
Poor Tylep, I love that!
ReplyDeleteI just read this one at church and I liked it so much I cut it out of the program (or whatever you call that flyer they give you at church):
"When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable." - Thich Nhat Hanh
I love it! It says "Love everyone, even jerks."
DeleteGood ones. Have to say my favorite is the one-legged guy in the ass-kicking contest. That's just me... I was going to be lazy and not do a list, but I think I'm inspired now.
ReplyDeleteI had a little bit of trouble coming up with a list of quotes, but this last one was always one of my favorites. It's so much fun to say. Plus it's a good visual, yes?
DeleteMost definitely. Cracks me up every time I think about it. Definitely a keeper!
DeleteI had a bit of trouble coming up with only six! Of course, I could easily be one of *those people who puts a quote of the day up at work, if I worked. Alas, I'm too lazy to bother the world in such a way. So you've one less nuisance to deal with. You're welcome.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha, you're awesome. I guess there are quote people and non-quote people. And an awful lot of us lazy people.
DeleteI have always loved the one from Mary Poppins
ReplyDeleteThere are so many from the movie, but this one really makes me smile the biggest.
DeleteLoved the Mary Poppins one - might have to put that on my quote board! lol
ReplyDeleteHow much fun is that whole scene in the movie?
DeleteAw man! I feel for your little brother! I am notorious for messing up old adages! My favorites to date are "knocked my right on my feet" and "jesus louise". And that Mary Poppins quote should have been one I lived by when going through my adolescent "why doesn't he like me" phase :)
ReplyDeleteAdage bungling is always funny. And I think you've got something there with the MP quote being useful for youngsters. Maybe I'll make a poster of it and hang it in my daughter's room?
DeleteThose are some awesome and powerful quotes you got there :D I'm a sucker for quotes hahaha
ReplyDeleteQuotes are fun; I just have a hard time remembering them and applying them at appropriate times. Thank you!
DeleteI very nearly quoted Mary Poppins on my list, but it was Mr. Banks saying, "Splendid, splendid," in response to his wife telling him the children were missing. We use this line at our house often (not because the children are missing).
ReplyDeleteHa! Just about anything warrants a "Splendid" if you say it aristocratically.
DeleteYou are just so likeable. :-) I'm always happy to be here and wish we could live closer and cackle together. I know there would be a lot of that going on.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I so appreciate your kindness. And yes. The cackling would be happening. :)
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