Why didn't I say that?
I enjoy a good quote--a good song lyric--any way of putting words together that brings a laugh or a thought or a brainstorm. Earlier this week I ran across some of my favorites that I had sent to friends. I sent them again--to the same friends. Some things bear repeating. My favorite of the bunch is. . . "If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning." I find this particularly amusing for the sheer fact that I am quite sure I serve as both to the same person; namely my daughter. Her "good example" and her "horrible warning" all rolled into one convenient Mommy. When she was in kindergarten she made a "good Mommy" award for me. Now, Victoria makes me things all of the time, but this particular award still hangs on the wall next to the calendar--not because I deserved it, but because in her new phase of writing skills she accidentally wrote "God Momey." I do not in any way shape or form equate myself to God--on the contrary. But it remains where I can see it daily because I find it to be a constant reminder that that is precisely the type of Momey I should strive to be--one that looks like God. I don't often fit the bill of "God Momey"--and that is another reason I love the quote from Catherine. On more than one occasion in my life I have wondered exactly WHY I have been saddled with certain people as family members, work peers, acquaintances, students. My first realization of this was with someone I have a lot of contact with. I wondered and pondered why God would have brought such a person into my life. Then I realized--this is an example of the type of person I DON'T want to be, but have the potential to become. My very own "horrible warning." Almost every person I would classify as a "horrible warning" has mannerisms, habits, quirks painfully close to my very own. So they serve as reminders of how I DON'T want to be. I love them--because I have to--because I need to--because God wants me to. And I learn from their example. And I am thankful for God bringing them into my life. On my better days I hope I serve as Victoria's "good example." On my worse days I'll have to settle for also serving as her "horrible warning." The rest of the quotes--for those of you who need a laugh (and who doesn't)--are listed below. Enjoy, and feel free to share your own favorites. . .
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posted by Roxanne @ 8:34 PM
2 Comments:
Way off your topic, but your previous post about unnecessary explanations, as well as the random quotes made me think about a gal here that i know. She has 4 brothers and sisters. She said that her mom would say -- to anyone on the street within earshot: "We're not even Catholic! We're just passionate protestants!" I still laugh imagining some frazzled woman with 5 children underfoot explaining herself in a way no one wants to hear!
This morning as I drove the boys over to John at the firestation for the 'hand-over'(they are out of school this week,) Z says, "Mom, yesterday at after-school we watched Shrek, and did you know they say the J-word and A-word in that movie?" Like you and Thad and the Legos and Santa, I needed an answer with some wisdom. "Yes," I said, "and in this life you will hear things like that now and then. You, however, will always have a choice whether you yourself will use those kinds of uninteresting expressions."
My mom wasn't a "good example" as far as lifestyle or habits. In fact, she was my own personal "horrible warning," but she had her own standards and did impart words of wisdom on occasion, including her idea that sweraing was the least creative form of expression imaginable, especially with so many other words available!
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