Every once in a while my mom will spring an old wives’ tale on me from out of nowhere. Seriously, you don’t even see them coming. It’s like being blindsided. One minute you’re having a logical conversation, and the next minute you have no idea what just happened.
My sister is staying with my mom while she is undergoing radiation and has ended up with shingles. My sister and I were talking about how this is somehow related to the chicken pox virus. My mom can never remember if I have had it or not, but I thought I would throw caution to the wind and ask one more time about childhood illnesses. This time I got an answer that I was NOT expecting.
She told me that she thought I did have them…or it could have been Jimmy or one of the others. Okay, I was expecting that part. But it was the next part that doubled me over. She went on to say, in a tone as if she was passing along the family jewels, that if you take the child out and let chickens run across them, it will make the chicken pox go away. Now, I am pretty dang sure that was NOT me. While I do have a fear of chickens, I KNOW that I would have remembered that.
So my usual response is, “Are you SERIOUS??????” (usually said while I am laughing hysterically) She is so funny. She pauses as if she has never stopped to think it through before and usually says something to the effect of, “Well, I guess that doesn’t make much sense, does it?”..and chuckles. She is so cute! I just love her so much!
Now, before you think we are just plain crazy people, let me give you a little family background. My mom is 87 years old and was born and raised on a farm in some very tough times. Education was a luxury that many could not afford. As a matter of fact both my mom and dad had to quit school after only finishing 5th and 6th grade to help on the farm. They were married during the great depression when they were 15 and 16 years old and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary just a few months before my dad died. My mom and dad worked hard to make sure their children had food to eat and had the luxury of finishing high school. They took us to church every week and raised us all in a Christian home teaching us right from wrong….except for maybe a few old wives’ tales.
Honestly, this is just one of the reasons that I feel I have such a rich heritage. We have color. Our family stories may not be your normal everyday family stories, but they are ours and always make us laugh.
Just for fun….and so you don’t think it’s just my family who is crazy…here are a few others I found on the internet:
- Chewing gum, if swallowed, remains inside your body for seven years.
- If you feel a burning in your ears, it means that somebody is talking about you. A variation on this is that if you hear a ringing in your ears, someone is thinking about you.
- If a bird comes into your house, someone in the family is going to die.
- If you see a red bird, you will see someone that you are not expecting to see.
- Cats can steal the air from a baby’s mouth.
- Feed a cold, starve a fever. False. Both high fevers and colds can cause fluid loss. Drinking plenty of liquids such as water, fruit juice, and vegetable juice can help prevent dehydration. And with both fevers and colds, it’s fine to eat regular meals – missing nutrients may only make a person sicker.
- If you go outside with wet hair, you’ll catch a cold. False. Cold weather, wet hair, and chills don’t cause colds. Viruses do. People tend to catch colds more often in the winter because these viruses are spread more easily indoors, where there may be more contact with dry air and people with colds. Dry air – indoors or out – can lower a person’s resistance to infection.
- If a woman’s carrying low, it’s a boy; if a woman’s carrying high, it’s a girl. False. If a woman’s carrying high, this may be her first pregnancy or her body’s in good shape. Stomach muscles have a tendency to become more elastic with each pregnancy, so a belly that’s seen more than one pregnancy may hang a little low.
Wikipedia states that old wives’ tales come from an effort to change behavior.
You know what? Now that I think about it….we have a few old wives’ tales that we made up ourselves….
- Eating pepperoni will help you to swim better.
- If you pee in the pool….a red ring will appear.
Our children are now thinking of the crazy things they will tell their children.
Tradition lives on.
