Words to live by

Every family has them. Sayings or phrases that are deeply ingrained in the life and culture of the family. Sometimes they are trans-generational; other times they are born of contemporary experience. My mother always said, "Folks in Hell want ice water" in response to my many demands. Who among us has not heard: "If your friend jumped off a building, would you do that too?"

I coined "You can't walk and gawk"  in response to my stumbling over uneven sidewalks in Mexico City, and it is a phrase that  has continued to serve us in all our travels.

Our daughter introduced us to "Isn't that baby cold?" from her experiences in Prague. There, every one - even the nineteen-year old male museum attendant - is a Babushka, a grandmother, at least in heart, and no one hesitates to give child-rearing advice. We have discovered that this shared concern does not play out as well in the U.S. as it did in the Czech Republic.

"We've been wet (and cold) before"  was a catch-phrase from trekking in the Colorado mountains, where we were often wet. And cold. It allows us to apply the measure of relativity to our current condition, because we seldom get as wet and cold as we did then, so never mind.

"Toys break, balloons pop, the best players get to play and you're too old to cry" was standard child-rearing advice as our children were growing up, and has even been offered up in adulthood.

How many times has Barb counseled our kids - usually on the phone - to "take a long, slow, deep breath?"

How about you? What are the words you (and your family) live by?