Folk Tales and Fables and Dreams Oh My!

The other day we were at my mom's house and Kaitlyn just wouldn't listen to anything I was saying.  In fact, she would literally do the exact opposite.  My mom piped in and said "You're just like the little frog.  Mommy froggy says do this and little froggy does that.  Mommy froggy says do that and little froggy does this.  So mommy froggy wants to be buried up in the mountains so she doesn't wash away.  She tells little froggy that she wants to be buried by the river because he always does the opposite of what mommy says.  Mommy froggy dies and little froggy says I'm going to honor mommies last wish and buries her by the river.  When it rains little froggy comes out and cries, please don't wash away mommy.  And that's why when it rains all the little froggies come out and cry."  I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard by the end of the story.  You have to imagine a little Asian woman telling this story with her not so good story-telling ability, in her thick accent and then asking my daughter what frogs say because she doesn't know what they say.

My mother, she has a lot of these little stories, fables and superstitions that she tells us.  Like the reason it rains while the sun is shining bright?  Tigers are mating.  (I have no idea why those two things go together.) Also, you never tell a pregnant woman no.  If you do, the baby will come out cross-eyed.  If you have the habit of shaking your leg, you know, that nervous twitching your foot occasionally does, you are shaking the luck out of your body.  She means that you are shaking out the good luck but we always tell her it's the bad luck leaving.  Also, don't eat sugar.  It causes memory loss and my brother is proof!  There are many, many more, but I can't think of them right now.

She's also believes that every dream has a specific meaning and she's big into dream interpretation.  (Please don't tell her that you had a dream about losing your teeth because then she will worry that you are going to be losing money soon.)  She had a pregnancy dream while pregnant with each of us kids.  I think I love my pregnancy dream the most because she remembers it in the most detail.  She dreamt that she and her best friend at the time were being chased by snakes.  Her friends snake didn't catch her, but instead slithered away.  My mom's snake on the other hand, caught up with her and wrapped itself around her really tight.  Around the time of the dream, not sure if this was before or after, she found out that both she and her friend were pregnant.  Coincidentally, I was born in the year of the snake.  I also have a SUPER close relationship with my mother, which could explain her snake wrapping around her really tight.  Her friend, on the other hand, left her abusive marriage and unfortunately had to leave her son behind and has no relationship with him to this day.  Super freaky if you ask me.

Not that this has anything to do with fables, superstitions or old wives tales, but my mother also happens to be a very good judge of character.  She has this sense of "knowing" who people are in the moment she meets them.  She has this uncanny knack of knowing which friends will be swept away with the wind and those that will stay at your side even in your worst moment.  She even predicted that Jerry and I would get married before we were even really friends.  She was wrong about Kaitlyn being a boy, but I'll forgive her for that one.

I get a kick out of most of my mom's silly stories and sayings and will pass them down to my children so they can laugh and always remember silly grandma.