My Grandma Used to Say

There is a picture book titled My Grandma Used to Say which I have read with the kids. I can’t say that either of my grandmothers said any of the things that are in that book. However, some days I am reminded of the things my grandma used to say. Mostly by Grandma Ogilvie. I can’t remember my Grandma Sturm having very many sayings. Probably because she was Polish…which means she took everything literally…which means idioms had little meaning to her. 

Like most mothers of young children, I find myself repeating exactly what my mother said to me growing up. But sometimes I find myself repeating things Grandma Ogilvie used to say – things I had long forgotten but suddenly come back to me.

For example:

Goozle: I believe this is a Southern body part. Something akin to the phrase “yonder”. It doesn’t really exist. Unless you’re Southern. Then you always know exactly where “yonder” is. (Which once stunned a Yankee friend who asked my mom who was forever saying to us when we asked about a misplaced object “It’s in yonder,” and off we would dash to get it: “How do your kids know where yonder is?”) A “goozle” is somewhere between the stomach and chest areas. It is a phrase I use (like Grandma Ogilvie and my mom before me) whenever I am putting Emry’s tights on and pulling them up as high as I can. She giggles every time.

Put a rock on your head: I had completely forgotten about this one until Emry woke up one morning about a year ago and seemed to have grown overnight. I remarked about this, told her she needed to stop growing, and then said I would put a rock on her head to be sure she did stop growing. She looked very confused, so I told her it was something my grandma use to say to me when I grew too much and she wanted me to stop. Now whenever I use this phrase, she grins and responds, “Did your grandma used to say that to you, Mama?”

Last week we were at the park and Emry was swinging on some bars. It had only been a week since she was swinging on those same bars, but now she seemed to reach them much easier. I remarked at how long she could stretch and she replied, “I’m long like a green bean.” The phrase struck me as sounding like one Grandma Ogilvie would have used, especially as Southerners are always comparing things to fruits, vegetables, farm animals, or flowers. But I didn’t recall it. I asked her where she had heard that phrase – had Grandma (my mom) used it? She shook her head and dashed off to something else. To this day, I’m not sure where she got that phrase. However, I am quite pleased she used it. Her Southern blood is showing. And making me proud.