The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 7 JULY 2019 | Page 27

WHAT’S REALLY GOOD? MOTHER WIT Things my folks told me about life WATERLOO, IA - “Mother wit” consists of old sayings that many folks from my generation grew up hearing from their parents and other elders. It often came as a cautionary tale or a bit of wisdom to address a specific problem or a reminder that you’re never as clever as you might think. I thought that my folks’ ‘mother wit’ sayings were either country, or corny, or both; but the older I got, the more value I saw in their wisdom. Here are a few of my favorites: • “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right!” My folks were big on encouragement to reach for goals that might seem impossible. At the same time, they also emphasized the power of positive thought, not pessimism. They felt that if you believed you could do something, there was a greater likelihood that you would at least try. • “All it takes is a made-up mind” was a follow-up statement to let you know that the power to make change was in your hands. • “I ain’t been no fool since my head was no bigger than a cherry”. This was one of my mother’s favorites; it literally meant that she hadn’t been a fool since BOOMSHAKALAKA! before she was born, so don’t even think about trying to play her! It was her way of telling us that we couldn’t put anything over on her. If you had a weak excuse for not doing something, she’d say “I can run backward with that same stick you’re trying to walk with.” My father had a few pearls of ‘mother wit’, too. If a comment or complaint he heard from you sounded like peer pressure -- or like you were worried about what others thought -- he’d be quick to drop this knowledge on you: “What SOMEBODY ELSE eats don’t send YOU to the toilet”. I censored Daddy’s statement a bit, but the message remains the same: don’t be so influenced by what other people think because it doesn’t affect you. When it came to love advice, my father had a saying I always thought was hilarious, because it was so “country”, and so straightforward. If you liked someone you were too shy to approach because you were unsure if they felt the same way, Daddy had this advice: “You can’t eat the hog’s head if you’re scared of its eye”. I didn’t get it at first, but he was saying that to pursue any challenge -- career, relocating, further education, or finding out whether affection is mutual -- you can’t let fear or uncertainty stand in your way. This last saying [also censored] is one both my parents insisted we heed: “Don’t let your mouth write a check that your backside can’t cash”; don’t let words get you into situations you aren’t prepared to back up. I appreciate the timeless ‘mother wit’ and wisdom my folks shared. Having shared it with my own family, I hope the tradition will continue with them! I am Chaveevah, author of What’s Really Good in The Soultown International Magazine. I’d like to thank my family for having SOUL! , https://bit.ly/2GnNtlX Learn more about Chaveevah Ferguson at http:// www.thesoultown.com/what-s-really-good-.html Email Me: [email protected] July 2019 • The Soultown International Magazine • Celebrating 2 years • Connecting Our Cultures to Our Cyber & Conscious Communities • thesoultown.com 27