This week on FB I posted an innocent photo of something I had learnt from my mom. And I was SO delighted to see the comments it elicited. Hil-ARIOUS. This is the pic I put up....
And it got me thinking of all the things we learn from our parents and siblings often unconsciously ...and that we continue to perpetuate without even realising it...so this is what my kids have to look forward to one day.... :)
1 - Toilet rolls should be placed on the roll holder in a specific direction...and if you should find one in the wrong direction - be sure to change it...even if it is in the bathroom at Buckingham Palace!
2 - Running a big, full to the brim bath is sacrilege....and even if there is no water rationing you will still be ticked off for doing it!
3 - Take your plate to the kitchen...every time...no matter where you are - just do it and do not argue!
4 - Bacon and eggs can and should be eaten for dinner regularly...it was our Friday night special and I can think of two families in Bulawayo who shared this tradition with us each week!
5 - 'Tables are for glasses not for arses'...I kid you not. My mother's mantra when you went to place your rear-end within an inch of a table!!!
6 - Finish what is on your plate...woe betide if you don't (and my sis and I were musing last weekend about being made to sit until we had finished the food...when the dining table was next to the kitchen window, why we never tossed it out to the dog is beyond us!!!!)
7 - 'Children must be seen and not heard'...my how times have changed!
8 - Respect your elders...and I know this is ingrained in my psyche because it is one of the things about living in the UK that frustrates me - many children here do not follow this simple mantra!
9 - My mother's version of saying grace at a meal - 'Over the teeth, around the gums, watch out stomache...here it comes'!!
10 - Late at night when you are driving home - make sure you stay awake by singing...whether you have someone in the car or not - sing...and there is only ONE song to sing...it goes like this...
'We went to the animal fair,
The birds and the beasts were there.
By the light of the moon the silly baboon was coming his auburn hair.
The monkey gave a jump.
Whoops.
Right over the elephant's trunk.
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees and what became of the
monkey, monkey, monkey"
Ideally you should have several in the car and each of you should start the song midway through so it becomes choral chaos! The Three Musketeers (Mom, Carls and I) were really good at it!!!
10 - Never ever ever dare your baby sibling to go and ask a group of parents if she is something [insert word that 10 year old and friends does not know] - I recollect two words that got me into severe trouble here....and I still smile when I think of them (and come to think of it - where on earth I had picked them up I have NO idea!!!)
11 - If your neighbours child is stuck in a bathroom, improvise. Get out a great big saw and cut a giant square out of the middle of the door. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do not try and get the hinges off. JUST saw!
12 - Never ever arrive empty handed for dinner - bring flowers, a bottle of something, a baked something, a box of something - just come with your hands full.
13 - It is better to have your children at home with you and millions of friends than to have them out and you not knowing where they are. My mom is a legend to my mates and she used to love having them in the house. Nowdays there is a bit too much too-ing and fro-ing when we go home - but in the 90's it was the way things were done!!
14 - Always hang up your bloody towel and put the bathmat over the edge of the bath - at your peril if you don't!!!
15 - Call your children 'pet' a lot - they love hearing it without even really recognising they love it!
16 - When you travel on long journeys in the car, make sure you build up the space behind the seats so your children can lie in one giant bed for hours on end!
17 - The only way to stop children arguing about who sits in the front of a car in a single parent family - alternate the days and leave it empty on Sundays! And then whoever sits in the front opens and closes the house gate - ingenious really!
Oh how I love so many of these small things in life and I can't wait to teach them to my new niece or nephew - woo hoo!
I have a challenge for you - share on my newly formed FB group for 'the Gigga Spot' what you learnt from your parents that you look forward to sharing with your children!!
Bye for now!
1 - Toilet rolls should be placed on the roll holder in a specific direction...and if you should find one in the wrong direction - be sure to change it...even if it is in the bathroom at Buckingham Palace!
2 - Running a big, full to the brim bath is sacrilege....and even if there is no water rationing you will still be ticked off for doing it!
3 - Take your plate to the kitchen...every time...no matter where you are - just do it and do not argue!
4 - Bacon and eggs can and should be eaten for dinner regularly...it was our Friday night special and I can think of two families in Bulawayo who shared this tradition with us each week!
5 - 'Tables are for glasses not for arses'...I kid you not. My mother's mantra when you went to place your rear-end within an inch of a table!!!
6 - Finish what is on your plate...woe betide if you don't (and my sis and I were musing last weekend about being made to sit until we had finished the food...when the dining table was next to the kitchen window, why we never tossed it out to the dog is beyond us!!!!)
7 - 'Children must be seen and not heard'...my how times have changed!
8 - Respect your elders...and I know this is ingrained in my psyche because it is one of the things about living in the UK that frustrates me - many children here do not follow this simple mantra!
9 - My mother's version of saying grace at a meal - 'Over the teeth, around the gums, watch out stomache...here it comes'!!
10 - Late at night when you are driving home - make sure you stay awake by singing...whether you have someone in the car or not - sing...and there is only ONE song to sing...it goes like this...
'We went to the animal fair,
The birds and the beasts were there.
By the light of the moon the silly baboon was coming his auburn hair.
The monkey gave a jump.
Whoops.
Right over the elephant's trunk.
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees and what became of the
monkey, monkey, monkey"
Ideally you should have several in the car and each of you should start the song midway through so it becomes choral chaos! The Three Musketeers (Mom, Carls and I) were really good at it!!!
10 - Never ever ever dare your baby sibling to go and ask a group of parents if she is something [insert word that 10 year old and friends does not know] - I recollect two words that got me into severe trouble here....and I still smile when I think of them (and come to think of it - where on earth I had picked them up I have NO idea!!!)
11 - If your neighbours child is stuck in a bathroom, improvise. Get out a great big saw and cut a giant square out of the middle of the door. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do not try and get the hinges off. JUST saw!
12 - Never ever arrive empty handed for dinner - bring flowers, a bottle of something, a baked something, a box of something - just come with your hands full.
13 - It is better to have your children at home with you and millions of friends than to have them out and you not knowing where they are. My mom is a legend to my mates and she used to love having them in the house. Nowdays there is a bit too much too-ing and fro-ing when we go home - but in the 90's it was the way things were done!!
14 - Always hang up your bloody towel and put the bathmat over the edge of the bath - at your peril if you don't!!!
15 - Call your children 'pet' a lot - they love hearing it without even really recognising they love it!
16 - When you travel on long journeys in the car, make sure you build up the space behind the seats so your children can lie in one giant bed for hours on end!
17 - The only way to stop children arguing about who sits in the front of a car in a single parent family - alternate the days and leave it empty on Sundays! And then whoever sits in the front opens and closes the house gate - ingenious really!
Oh how I love so many of these small things in life and I can't wait to teach them to my new niece or nephew - woo hoo!
I have a challenge for you - share on my newly formed FB group for 'the Gigga Spot' what you learnt from your parents that you look forward to sharing with your children!!
Bye for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment