Myths That Shaped Me As a Child

When I was small my mom never screamed at me nor lost her cool. Not to say that she always caved into my demands. She got me do things without coercion and arguments. She had her magic bag of tricks that I am jealous of as a mother. I wish I was as creative as she was. She used little myths that she would always say to make me do things needed to be done.  Every one of them shaped me as a child, my way of thinking and the way I am today. Although, now I know they were just made up statements that make me laugh, I realise how they shape who I am as a grown up. I hope I can do the same for my son. I try. One of my tricks to make my son zip up his jacket and wear his heat in winter is to tell him that is it illegal. I know, I know. I am not as inventive as my mom! But listen to a few things my mom said to me that I remember on the spot. I wonder if you could share with me some that you remember from your childhood. I am very curious. Shuffle some memories, search and let me know. Or maybe there is something of your own that you use now? Share!

B's teapot, Kashiwara, Japan

1. Drink milk when you eat your french fries. "If you don't they will stand up and poke your stomach." Growing up as a child in a small town in Roztocze, Poland, I had no luxury to go out and buy fries. We had no A&W, McDonald's, no fast food restaurants. Nor I missed any of those places! My mother made the best fries in the world. Every single one of them was peeled and cut by my mother's hand. Hence, they would take a lot of effort, smalec (lard) and time to make. She was making them from scratch, no frozen stuff! We would compromise. She would make my beloved fries as long as I drank milk with them. Pure genius! What child would not have agreed to have some milk to stop those sharp ends from scratching her/his stomach!

2. Don't play cards because you will have an empty head (translating the meaning here from "Kto gra w karty, ten ma leb obdarty"). I went through my childhood literally fearing cards. I really didn't want to have an empty head. I wanted to be good and smart and have a head full of knowledge! Just once in a while I would watch in awe how at scouts' camps some of my friends, very good students, would pull all nighters playing cards! Shocking and traumatic! To this day I cannot play cards even if it saved my life! I can't even hold them properly!

3. Don't put your clothes inside out or back to front! Even by accident! Because someone dear to you will turn away from you! I truly believed that one. So every time it would happen by accident I would  get terrified that my best friends would their backs on me. I tried my best and tell them how much they meant to me and didn't miss an opportunity to keep them happy.

Some of the myths mothers tell us are really peculiar, but they shape us and the way we perceive the world. It all depend weather we like milk, vegetables, treat our friends right, on these little events from our childhood. I wonder if you remember any of your mom's or dad's expressions or phrases that stuck with you until today. Tell me! Share! I am seriously curious!