All the Mother’s Day advertising has me in an I Remember Mama mood. I could tell a million stories about my mother, and eventually I will. What keeps me from telling one every day is that they all require vast amounts of exposition. It’s not that I can’t supply the words; on the contrary, it takes all the restraint I have to keep from using every word I know in every single post. (I need an editor.)
It’s a trait that I may have inherited from Mom, or more likely, picked up by osmosis. Mom didn’t tell a story that started at A and stopped at B on the way to its conclusion at C. The tale might start out about her trip to the grocery store, but it would swoop through valleys and circle over hills, take a few dips in the lake and end with her saying, “Now what was I talking about?”
If I was in a hurry to get somewhere, I would ask, “Mom, is this going to be one of your ‘can of cling peaches’ stories?” I called them that after seeing an episode of All in the Family where Edith arrived home from an errand disheveled, bedraggled, and breathless. She told Archie that she had been in a car accident. From his easy chair, Archie said, “But Edith, you don’t have a car! What happened?” and Edith said, “Well, it all started with a can of cling peaches . . .”
Now, what was I talking about?
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I do the same thing! Mike has to reel me in every few minutes or I’ll go on forever! haha
Busty LaRue’s last blog post..Vay-Cay
Busty isn’t the only person in our family that tells “Cling Peaches”. We have 3 or 4 more…at least. When we all get together, I don’t think we ever hear the intended end of any story!
Lola…again’s last blog post..I’ll Follow!
That made me laugh. And I had forgotten that episode so that brought back a smile as well.
I’m famous for re-starting a conversation anywhere from an hour to a day later going “…so anyway…” and just launching into the rest of the story, forgetting that not everybody has been inside my brain and aware of what I’m thinking.
Meadowlark’s last blog post..I’m FREE!!!
I start a story and my whole family just rolls their eyes. It’s not that they are bad stories. I just never tell what I started out telling. I also come by it naturally. My youngest sister once had a very morbid girl scout project that was about epitaphs. She wrote one for each of her family members. Dear Ole Dad’s was “He told me more than I ever wanted to know.” Yes, well, what was I saying?
Sarah M’s last blog post..Never say "I can’t"
Oh, this is hilarious. Every story my mother-in-law tells begins, “Well, it was last Tuesday…”
This is the second Mother’s Day reference in 2 days. It’s still a couple weeks away, right? Has it become another holiday one must plan for in advance? Sigh…
Ellie’s last blog post..Sometimes
Mom stories are great.
ALF’s last blog post..Stupid Jan Rogers
OMG, I loved that episode! And every conversation with my mom is a Cling Peach story.
laura’s last blog post..A Penguin Purse and a Bone to Pick
I remember that episode! And I think my tales do that too.
Three things.
1. My dad has a saying (much like Sarah M’s, above): “You’re telling me more than I want to know.” He uses it on me, and me alone, I think.
2. My grandmother (Mormor) was a storyteller, and everyone says I resemble her in every way. Her two famous phrases were “But I digress” and “At any rate . . .”
3. My aunt always says, “Listen to what I’m THINKING.” It perfectly describes my thought processes.
4. I am Stumbling this. Yes, I can count an No, I don’t care. It’s WONDERFUL.
Ahh, Mum stories.
I too have been thinking of Mum such a lot lately. Last year was terribly painful being the first one without her, this year is more yearning and nostalgic.
My Mum was not so much a story teller, but a rapt listener and made our blurblings feel important, especially those of us (guilty) of being rambling writers and tale spinners
Love that!
Brie’s last blog post..Mother’s Day Tea
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