Of course I can’t sleep and I decide I’m gonna write. I have lots to say but it seems like there are more quotes than thoughts. I can’t fully accept responsibility for this because I was raised by a family of “quoters”….
If you asked someone a question then they’d answer with a quote. For example; “God willing and the creek don’t rise we’ll be there” or “I love you better than hogs love slop”…( raised in the south and we can give you a quote or twenty) I was thinking about different things that have happened over the year and how sometimes it’s my go to if I get nervous… “Gods will is perfect timing” which is truth but who wants to hear it at a funeral? Yet we all say it. Or my Nanny used to say “This old grey mare she ain’t what she used to be” and that has become my new motto for my 40s.
I’d say my favorite quote came from an old boss of mine. Gary Temples. He was a man of few words but he had nuggets of wisdom in each little line he gave you. He would tell me and his daughter all the time people make their mind up without you once offering an ounce of explanation …” So when you’re explaining you’ve already lost”…Wait, does this man even know me? I have a story for every situation. My girlfriend from church used to make fun of me because I had to have a “back up person” to verify the story. I did this because (insert back up people) my girlfriends can attest that the craziest, random or most bizarre things happen to me. Some I provoke but 75% they just happen all on its on. As much as I have tried you can’t explain your way out of them. I’ve been chased down south Ga interstates, met countless famous people, encountered some of the saddest situations and then when you try to tell it,you better have a camera and a expert witness on hand or nope they ain’t buying it.
I am fixer by nature and overthinker by genetics. I would love to be in situations that when they arise, I just become calm and collected give them a “coy quote” to ease their mind but that pesky overthinking comes out and I ruin it every time. Why do I have to defend my story? Why not just be like there it is and I’m out! One because I do love a reaction (I admit) and two because it’s in all of us to want to be loved and accepted. From children to adults. We want that acceptance. I was telling a story to some people last week about how I adored my chiropractors and how I mean they are the best “things since sliced bread”(like how I inserted) SO I have been going for months and calling them the wrong names. Yes I can’t even believe this one myself. Not like it’s not on the front door and I can’t read😳THREE months and I realized it and immediately had to fix it and explain to them when in reality I didn’t have to. My admiration for them didn’t change. Just their name did..;) but I had to apologize and give a card. Because I couldn’t explain it away.
Quotes are an easy fix to most every situation but like Gary said sometimes you just have to say it, no need for a back up friend and be like there you have it. Oh….it’s never gonna happen for me but it looked so good writing it out.
Understanding that you are you and you aren’t changing at this point is a game changer. For me anyways. But why should we? We want to improve but perhaps our worst trait is in fact our best one. My papa was the best man I knew besides my daddy and he had a quote for everything. Come to think of it so does my daddy… What does it matter if we like to tell our stories and have an eye witness or if we don’t like to tell them at all. You just be you. Laugh at yourself. When you are in the most outlandish situations and you can’t explain it then just laugh. 2020 is coming and hopefully I’m gonna laugh a lot and find some new quotes to use. I’m gonna still have the craziest stories and I’m always gonna want to share them. Oh and some people won’t like your stories because stuff like that never happens to them. There are reasons it won’t too. They aren’t open. They don’t engage with strangers, they are private or they don’t have that quality you have. Yes look at it as a quality. As for my quoters who are 90% of all southerners… “Keep Quoting” and telling your stories. Someone will read it and like it. I have a few who read mine. Just be you!!!!
Memoirs of a “Not So Famous Hairstylist” 