There are certain words of wisdom that you pass down to your kids. Back in the day, parables and folk stories were passed down from generation to generation. Now there are things you share with your kids that you have learned from your parents or from your own life experience. If you grew up in the 80s and 90s pop culture was everything to our generation. So naturally you might say things to your kids that your favorite show or singer taught you in your formative years. What is really funny is when your kids find out that what you shared with them isn’t your original thought. Here are a few words of wisdom that my kids were shocked to learn that weren’t from me.
Original, But Not Mine
When You Want It The Most
Celine Dion is one of the world’s most powerful singers. She was churning out ballads left and right in the 90s. Of course, My Heart Will Go On from Titanic will go down as her most famous song. Yet, I will say her song That’s the Way It Is, has one of the most powerful lessons you can teach your kids. One of the best lines from that song is when she says, “When you want it the most there’s no easy way out.” Yes it is from a pop song, but if you take out that line and share it with your kids, they can use that as a mantra for when they are facing a difficult time in their life. One day were were driving together as a family and that song came one. When that line popped up, my kids were like, “Hey…is that where you got that from? We thought you came up with that!” After a few laughs and smiles, I said I do borrow things from people from time to time. So now when that song plays on the radio we just all smile at each other.
Purple Is A Fruit
One of the most quotable TV shows of all time has to be The Simpsons. My friends and I will always quote lines from that film. Heck one time when I interviewed Al Jean, who is the Executive Producer of The Simpsons, I said I got a free sub because of the line, “So, I says to Mabel.” He said Homer would definitely approve of that. Yet one of my favorite lines from that show is when Homer took Lisa to work. She was looking for a healthy snack. She asked Homer if there was any fruit. He says to her as he points to a donut, “This has purple stuff inside. Purple is a fruit.” So when my kids ask about veggies or fruit in the house, I find a way to use that line. As you would guess the night we first watched that episode and Homer uttered that line, my kids give me a look.
When You Look Into The Abyss
When I first heard the line, “When you look too long into the abyss, the abyss looks back through you” it wasn’t Friedrich Nietzsche. It was from the Caped Crusader himself in Batman: The Animated Series. That series came out in 1992. I was in middle school at that time and I thought that was deep. When I became a dad I would find ways to use that line with my kids. It would mostly be for no reason and my wife and kids would be like, why are you saying that? You can use that line for many things in life while you are talking to your kids. But this phrase was something that will always stick with me. After a while, they asked if that was my line or from someone else based from past examples. When I showed them the clip on YouTube I got some eye rolls that are similar to when I tell them a dad joke. So in the end it that line is definitely worth repeating from time to time.
