Immortalized
Sometimes when you say something no matter how innocently, you take a risk of it coming back when you least expect it.
The words of children are great for this. Kids just say stuff. They don't know everyone will remember them...even 20 years later. They express themselves, wait for the results and then move on to the next thing. Its as simple as that.
My daughter Emy was 4 years old when we were over my grandmother's house. We taught the kids to make sure they thank people who do something for them, but my grandmother was the kind that she would pay you to come over and eat her food. You know, the Italian grandmother type that can't feed enough people.
At the conclusion of the meal and right before our departure, she looked at my grandmother and said innocently enough, "Thanks for making us dinner." For some reason, this was found to be hilariously funny by the rest of my family, especially my brother Mike who couldn't say it enough times for effect.
Emy was slightly embarressed by the response she got for something she thought was simply being polite, which was the way she was taught.
As a result of my divorce, she and I had an unusual relationship over the years, yet her phrase lived on as people continued to say her line to my grandmother at the end of all meals consumed at her house.
When my grandmother passed, it would've actually been a good choice for her gravestone, she lived to make dinner for people. Yet Emy's line would find its way into another somewhat important event.
The other night was the wedding rehearsal for my brother Chris. A toast was proposed and then my brother Mike publically thanked the restaurant people for the evening for the the fine food...
"Thanks for making us dinner!" he said gleefully almost childlike, like the child who once said it!
My mother asked me who had said that and I told her it was Emy some 20 yrs ago.
When I went home, Emy, who now lives with us was on the couch watching TV. Because she is an adopted child, sometimes she feels like she doesn't really belong. I needed to tell her the story of her classic line she hardly remembers saying.
When I told her about what happened at the wedding rehearsal, a huge smile came over her face. It made her day to know the family remembered the most innocent line of her childhood and that it had survived 20 yrs.
"Em" I told her, 'You've been immortalized!"
Of course isn't it amazing the only thing people remember about us are the things we probably prefer they would forget!
The words of children are great for this. Kids just say stuff. They don't know everyone will remember them...even 20 years later. They express themselves, wait for the results and then move on to the next thing. Its as simple as that.
My daughter Emy was 4 years old when we were over my grandmother's house. We taught the kids to make sure they thank people who do something for them, but my grandmother was the kind that she would pay you to come over and eat her food. You know, the Italian grandmother type that can't feed enough people.
At the conclusion of the meal and right before our departure, she looked at my grandmother and said innocently enough, "Thanks for making us dinner." For some reason, this was found to be hilariously funny by the rest of my family, especially my brother Mike who couldn't say it enough times for effect.
Emy was slightly embarressed by the response she got for something she thought was simply being polite, which was the way she was taught.
As a result of my divorce, she and I had an unusual relationship over the years, yet her phrase lived on as people continued to say her line to my grandmother at the end of all meals consumed at her house.
When my grandmother passed, it would've actually been a good choice for her gravestone, she lived to make dinner for people. Yet Emy's line would find its way into another somewhat important event.
The other night was the wedding rehearsal for my brother Chris. A toast was proposed and then my brother Mike publically thanked the restaurant people for the evening for the the fine food...
"Thanks for making us dinner!" he said gleefully almost childlike, like the child who once said it!
My mother asked me who had said that and I told her it was Emy some 20 yrs ago.
When I went home, Emy, who now lives with us was on the couch watching TV. Because she is an adopted child, sometimes she feels like she doesn't really belong. I needed to tell her the story of her classic line she hardly remembers saying.
When I told her about what happened at the wedding rehearsal, a huge smile came over her face. It made her day to know the family remembered the most innocent line of her childhood and that it had survived 20 yrs.
"Em" I told her, 'You've been immortalized!"
Of course isn't it amazing the only thing people remember about us are the things we probably prefer they would forget!
posted by CuzzinDave at 9:45 PM
2 Comments:
Great story, Dave!
In my family it was "Ready for seconds?". That question was almost always posed to my brother, David, about 3 minutes into the family meal and a good 20 minutes before anyone else was close to being done with helping #1.
Of course, David was a tall, skinny and growing boy of about 120lbs soaking wet and he needed all the nutrition he could gain. Now, some 20 years later, we simply say "You're not going to have seconds are you?" Things sure have changed! LOL!
It sure is fun remembering those good times though.
everyone has a family member like your brother. Then years later, you know how they got the way they got!
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