2024 #52Ancestors, Week 10: Language (Grandma's Sayings)

Me and Grandma, 1982ish.

Last Christmas Eve, I posted on Facebook about my Grandma Rose.  My daughter had asked us what she was like, and what transpired was a flood of remembrance that centered around some of Grandma's oft-uttered sayings.  After I posted it, my dad and my cousins all chimed in with the sayings (and one unfortunate driving incident) they most remembered.  It seems that Grandma left her mark through her use of language...and in more than one language!  For this week's post, I thought it would be fun to record everyone's recollections here.

I told my daughter that if Grandma Rose were still here, there are two sayings that would be ingrained in her mind.  At least, they were the sayings ingrained in my mind.  First, you never used the word “hey” to get Grandma’s attention. She would look at you, probably raise a dainty eyebrow, and respond, “Hey/Hay is for horses.” That ended the conversation before it even started. Two, if you happened to ask Grandma, “Why?” she would respond with, “Because y is a crooked letter.” Still not sure what she meant by that. In fact, I even tried to Google what the saying meant, and opinions were varied.  Everyone agreed, though, that whatever its potential meanings, its intent was to put an end to an irritating string of 'why' questions.  Sounds like I was an inquisitive child...

Cousin Tracy, and later Cousin Michael, offered their favorite - "I may not always be right, but I'm never wrong." I honestly don't remember hearing that one, but it doesn't matter.  It's just the sort of thing that Grandma would say.  She would have said it quite matter-of-factly and without even a hint of irony.   

Slightly less humorous (and certainly more than a little macabre) was another Cousin Michael offering - "When the devil caresses you, he wants your soul."  Again, I didn't remember that one, but Brandy clarified that Grandma would say it in Italian - Quannu u diavulu ti accarezza, ti voli l'anima.  If I was around when she said it, no one ever translated for me.  This is apparently an old Italian saying used to warn about the dangers of flattery.  Essentially, flatterers want something from you.

Finally, Brandy contributed this one.  "Man may propose, God will dispose."  When I looked up this saying, I discovered it was actually a paraphrase of The Bible, Proverbs 19:21, and it essentially means that you are welcome to make plans, but that God decides how things turn out in the end. I think I was just too young to appreciate the lessons behind many of Grandma's favorite sayings, but at least they are now recorded for posterity.