Terms of the Past

I was thinking alot about my grandmother lately, especially the words she used on a daily basis. My grandmother was 100% Irish. My mother is 3/4 Irish. I am 1/4 Irish, 1/2 German and 1/4 Polish. Even though, I am less Irish than my grandmother and mother, I relate to the Irish culture more than any other culture because that is the culture I was raised and most influenced by.

As I was growing up, I spent as much time with my grandparents as I did with my parents. Laying here, recovering from surgery, I started thinking back on my past and the words that were so familiar to me growing up.

• Misery
  



• Jinx
  



• Walking under ladders
  



• Placing shoes on the table
  



• Opening an umbrella in the house
  



• Breaking a mirror
  



• Never say you are happy, or you will jinx yourself

I am sure there were many more terms used that I cannot presently recall. These are the things that stick to one in childhood that we bring into adulthood. I never place shoes on the table or open an umbrella indoors, let alone, walk under a ladder. I never recall breaking a mirror and I do find myself happy, but with that constant thought of when the next shoe will drop. We are the sum of everything we have learned and experienced whether positive or negative. Many of the sayings I listed above seem ridiculous to my logical mind, but add the sum of all I have learned and I would never risk fate by walking under a ladder. The only term I never related to is misery. I often heard my grandmother use this term, but I never caught onto that word. I may not be the optimist and I may be more the pessimistic, but it is a work in progress. I am avoiding drama. I am trying to create a life with adults vs children. I am taking time to appreciate the little things. I am walking through my fear instead of walking around it, over it, or under it.