After Grandpa died and Mom was living alone next door, I used to go there every evening and we’d watch shows together if I wasn’t reading to her.
Now she’s gone, and #4 Daughter is living in her house and I’m living alone, and #4 comes here almost every evening and we watch shows together.
Every time she gets up to go, I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying what Mom said to me every time I got up to go. Maybe I’ll stop biting my tongue and continue the tradition, already.
Mom would say,
You on foot or on horseback?
Meaning did I walk or drive. I drove when it was raining, cold, or pitch dark. There are possums out there. You gotta look out for them marsupials. Fellow Bab 5 fans know what I mean.
This post is part of Linda G. Hills weekly blog hop, One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner or just like them, follow the link.
A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: A journey on foot or on horseback.
MA
Ally Bean
October 28, 2020 at 9:00amI like your one line. I know you’ll eventually say it to your daughter– it’s in your blood.
Marian Allen
October 28, 2020 at 9:48amI’ve had to bite my tongue, but I know you’re right. Sooner or later, it will force its way through my teeth. 😀
Anklebuster
October 29, 2020 at 1:48amI can’t put my finger on the exact words or sentiment but, there is something comforting about your transport that transcends foot and horseback: though the houses did not move, the energy to and fro most certainly shifted.
Cheers,
Mitch
Marian Allen
October 29, 2020 at 9:00amI know just what you mean. It feels both funny and fine to be the one being taken care of.
acflory
October 29, 2020 at 2:15amWe become our parents, don’t we? Not just that we suddenly find ourselves ‘the Elder Stateswomen’ of the family, but we take on those comforting habits too. Say it. Each time you do, a little part of your Mum lives on. Who knows, maybe one day Dau#4 will say the same words to her daughter. That is a beautiful legacy. -hugs-
Marian Allen
October 29, 2020 at 9:02amSometimes Mom and I would say the same thing (that I’d learned from her) at the same time. Now Sara and I do that. #4 won’t be having children, but she’s passing things on to her co-workers, and they’re probably passing them on to THEIR kids. Some day, some kid on Mars will be saying, “Daddy, what does ‘horseback’ mean?”
acflory
October 29, 2020 at 11:18pmAaaah! Now isn’t that a lovely prospect? I think your Mum would be pleased. 🙂
joey
October 29, 2020 at 8:51pmI really like that phrase, and I really like this oddly comforting tradition. The cockles of my heart are all warm and smack. <3
Marian Allen
October 30, 2020 at 8:16amI know it tickles Sara. It feels very odd to me to be “the old lady” now. This is the first time I’ve ever had Impostor Syndrome. I wink at the old lady in the mirror and say, “We got ’em fooled, kiddo!”
joey
October 31, 2020 at 7:01pmHaha! Okay, okay, but not old lady. You don’t look or act old lady, Lady!
Marian Allen
November 1, 2020 at 9:44amThank y’ kindly, ma’am! I always wrote old people characters as if they were young people with experience inside aging bodies, and it pleases me to find that I was right.
Dan Antion
October 30, 2020 at 9:24amHahaha – that’s a good expression. We like possums around here. They get a very bad rap, but they’re good little critters.
Marian Allen
October 30, 2020 at 10:19amI know! They eat ticks, which automatically makes them OK by me.