Out of the Wilderness

Every time the clock in my house chimes, I’m reminded of the many, many days and nights I spent at Mom-Mom and Pop’s house on South Mulberry Street in Monticello, Florida. It’s because the clock that chimed for decades in their family room is the very same exact clock keeping the wrong time, but chiming faithfully on the hour, in my family room. I can still recall the smell and it makes me miss my childhood, miss my grandparents, but I don’t want to go down that road right now. I’ll get all sentimental and…

my dogs might see their dad trying not to cry. 

But my grandparents, all four of them, used to say the darnedest things. These phrases are a great example of generational differences and trends in communication, and I’m so happy I still can remember a few of them.

Turn it loose …let go of whatever you’re holding on to.

Stop cutting up at the table …when rambunctious grandkids getting carried away at dinner needed to be reigned back in.

Going steady …means you have a girlfriend or boyfriend.

Miam-uh …as in Miami, Florida.

That’s just a small sampling of the fun little language nuggets they left behind. I’ll keep posting as phrases come to mind. Both my mom’s parents and my dad’s parents were legendary and I think about them every day! I actually intended this post to be funny, but thinking about these classic lines and phrases has made me nostalgic and wish that I could hear their voices again. What’s cool, though? Some days I do hear their voices as if they’re still in the room. I’m thankful they were around so much that each of their voices still sounds familiar, even when it’s only in my head.

-Out of the Wilderness