Words, Words, Words

This weekend was filled with words. I talked on the phone, I emailed, I "mingled" with acquaintances and strangers. I gave two people advice (I hope it was good; I think it was).
Right now, I'm a little tired of words. But I need them to write this post. The irony.

Words tend to carry weight when spoken by a loved one. I will share some words that I carry in my memory. Sometimes they come back to me as I lie in bed waiting for sleep to come, or when I sit in silence at my desk. They are stirred up from the recesses of my mind as I iron a shirt or shave or drive to the grocery store. These words are heavy with meaning/significance (at least to me) and I think I will carry them with me for the rest of my life.

"I didn't care if you were a boy or a girl. I just wanted you to be healthy." --Dad

"I wanted a little girl." --Mom

"You and that temper!! You get that from your mother's people ... they're all like that."-- Dad

"You're acting just like your father."-- Mom

"Always be good to your mother." --Dad

"Don't talk to your father that way." -- Mom

"What did your daddy tell you about using hand signs!!" -- Mom (when she saw me give a neighbor girl the bird.)

"Stop digging in your nose. Go wash your hands!" -- Ms. Green, kindergarten teacher, in front of my entire class.

"French kissing is when you suck on her tongue, and she sucks on your tongue." -- B from sixth grade.

"How come you don't hold my hand anymore?" -- S from eighth grade

Sixth grade substitute teacher: "Does anyone know what the saying 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free' means?"
My sixth grade classmate: "No, but I know what masturbation is."

"They're all God ... Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's like Kool-Aid. You need water, sugar, and Kool-Aid mix. You mix them all together, and then you've got Kool-Aid. It's the same with God." -- some guy in my Boy Scout Troop.

"Oh my God!! Oh my God!! Is he okay!?!??!" -- some teenage girl after I got kicked in the eye at Tae Kwon Do when I was about ten. It honestly didn't hurt much, but a bunch of people ran over to pick me up from the floor.

"I really want to be at prom with you, but I just think we should each have our own dates." -- K from 12th grade.

"I saw that." -- college friend who caught me looking at her chest.

"Will you just ... RELAX?!!??" -- same college friend the first time we made out.

"I can't believe you asked me to be your girlfriend while I was sick with the flu." --same college friend after she became college girlfriend.

"I'm so very proud of you." -- Mom

"I'd trust you to represent me in court. I wouldn't trust just anyone." -- J from law school

"You're beautiful ... seriously." -- KT senior year of college

"I can spell Mississippi. *rapidly* M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I!!" -- my nephew