I love our oldies!

14 Sep 2017 57 Comments

by Ritu in Family, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

They are the most important people in your life for so many years, you almost idolise them, they can do no wrong.

 

Then you get older and realise that, much as you love them to bits, they are human too, their behaviour can be annoying, or comical even, things they say make you howl with laughter, even though they don’t understand why you are giggling.

A comment I made on a fellow blogger, the Cornfed Contessa‘s post this morning, brought some funny stories flooding back.

I’ll start with the one I recounted earlier.

1) Why wont it work?

We visited family, and after a ‘little’ tipple (she’s not a drinker at all usually!) my mum and aunt were washing dishes. They were finding it really hard to get the washing up liquid to froth up. Anyhow, the next morning, mum woke with a thumping headache (hangover anyone?!). My aunt called to see how she was. She explained the reason for the headache ( my cousin thought it would be a giggle to double up the measure of spirits in their drinks!) and they had been washing up with hand lotion instead of washing up liquid!

2) Tummy Drumming

As I said above, she is not really a drinker, neither is my Pops, but for whatever reason, every couple of years, they would have this company come visit, and would taste wine, and select a few bottles to buy (I’m still not sure why, but they did!)  My brother, younger than me, loved the opportunity to ‘taste’ the wine too, but I was never that keen. Any way, sometimes at Christmas, they would open a bottle to share at dinner, and one time, I think it was stronger than they had anticipated, as by late afternoon, my mum was laying across the sofa, head on Pops’ belly, and gently drumming on his belly, giggling at the sound it made… oh it made us laugh, watching them!

3) Easy Access

Now my darling brother is a bit naughty, and he hasn’t stopped as he has got older.  He used to go to a boarding school, and at his holidays and exeats (weekends home) he would bring his trunk full of washing home for mum to sort out.  As he got older his style of underpants changed and he started to wear the Calvin Klein type boxers, fitted and snug etc.  Pops was a devout y-fronter!  As she ironed them (yes even our underpants were ironed, and to this day, I can’t stop doing ours either!) she admired them and said “Hmm, these look nice, I might get some for your dad…”   “Easy access, innit mum!” my brother piped up and mum, in a world of her own answered “Yes.” before realising what he had said and the implication of her answer!  Cue red face and a scolded brother, who was still laughing!

4) The Silent Finger

He is the paragon of peace, Mr Cool Calm and Collected, my Pops. I had never heard him use a bad word, in English or Punjabi, well not in front of us kids anyway.  But I guess even peaceful people have their limits!  Pops used to drive us everywhere, in fact he still does when he gets the chance. When he was younger, he would speed around and then as he realised that speed meant higher fuel costs, so he slowed right down, being Mr Sensible Driver (unless he really needed to press the accelerator to get somewhere fast!)  One night, we were coming home from some function or another, and he was going sedately in the middle lane, minding his own business. after a while it became apparent that a person behind him was tail-gating, and then whenever he moved to give way, the driver went right behind him again. After 20 minutes of to-ing and frow-ing, Pops got fed up and quickly looked at the back seat. seeing we were asleep, (but I wasn’t!) he quickly gave the tail-gater, the middle finger, stepped down on that accelerator and lost the twit behind!  I had to giggle, and he realised he had been caught. He shrugged, and just said, make sure you never do that!

5) We are human you know…

This has to be one of my favourite stories!  Now as I said, my brother was a boarding school boy, and as he hit 6th form and A-levels, he was an attractive young man, with his own fair share of admirers.  He used to play county level cricket and hockey, so Pops would ferry him around on weekends, around the country, to various matches.  One evening, as they headed back, my brother, who hated to hide anything from our parents, decided to tell Pops about a girl he had started seeing. She wasn’t Indian, but an English girl, a fellow pupil at his school.  Instead of getting angry, my Pops, who is peace personified, just said to my brother to remember that he should not disrespect her, to keep in his mind that she was someone’s daughter, someone’ s sister, and to treat her how he would want his own sister to be treated by a boy, and if he was to want to go that step further, to do the horizontal tango, to make sure he always used protection.  Once this hurdle was crossed, my brother felt a bit more, comfortable, shall we say, discussing bedtime antics.  “Pops,” he began, “so, do you and mum still, you know…” nudge, nudge, wink, wink!   (at this stage of my brother recounting this conversation, I was blushing myself, did I really want to hear the answer?!) Pops, driving, gave a quick sideways glance at my brother and said “We are human, you know.” and smiled, then continued on their journey!

Like I said, I love our oldies, they really make us laugh!  Wouldn’t change em for anything!

57 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. johnrieber
    Nov 05, 2018 @ 00:16:31

    These are GREAT anecdotes, and now they will live forever!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  2. rachaelstray
    Nov 04, 2018 @ 16:06:39

    I love this! That wine sounds really strong!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. fattymccupcakes
    Nov 03, 2018 @ 22:19:31

    Your parents sound like such an awesome pair ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. josypheen
    Nov 03, 2018 @ 21:54:13

    Lol these stories are so sweet Ritu!

    I love the idea of your mum and aunt washing up with moisturizer! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.
    Sep 24, 2017 @ 08:31:02

    Wonderful post Ritu…and you have a delightful family with fantastic memories. x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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  7. dawnwairimu
    Sep 19, 2017 @ 15:19:41

    Just like your brother, I too went to boarding school for most of my childhood and adolescent years (grade 3-12). I often wonder if I would put my own kids in boarding school too. I had a good experience, but not every kid in my school did, so I can understand that can be difficult. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Colleen Chesebro
    Sep 16, 2017 @ 02:34:31

    Sweet, sweet stories. You are such a good daughter. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Marje @ Kyrosmagica
    Sep 15, 2017 @ 16:24:26

    Your brother and dad sound like a right laugh! Lovely family story, really made me smile Ritu. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Erika Kind
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 19:51:46

    Haha, thanks for excerpts of your family’s “best of”. That’s so funny! Parents can be funny as my kids (or most of all my studied middle child) often laugh about what I say or do….lol!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Judy E Martin
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 18:31:05

    HA! I love the fact that your Pops and Mum are ‘still human,’ like a little drink on occasion, show their displeasure at stupid drivers and still have a bit of the other!!! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Gloria
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 17:59:07

    So lovely and funny too! Ritu…one question. Where do you find time to iron underpants? 😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. OIKOS™-Redaktion
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 16:48:38

    Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. shaunkellett
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 15:37:17

    This gave me a much needed chuckle!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Jennifer
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 14:53:57

    We are all human. Nudge. Nudge. Wink. Wink. Years after my father died, I took my Mother out for a drive because that was something she missed that she and Dad did. While driving down a country lane, my mother pointed to a turn-off and said: “This is where we would come parking.” When I expressed my surprise, she said, “Well, the house was full of kids, we needed to find a quiet place to have some fun.”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  16. syl65
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 13:42:26

    I love these little funny tidbits Sister! I know my mom can say some of the funniest things, especially when she giving me wise words of advice..

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. riffatwajidblogs
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 13:10:06

    Amazing memories

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. trialsandtribulationsofamum
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 11:46:11

    Excellent memories made me smile and remember lots of fun stories from my folks

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. Jennie
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 11:43:05

    Great stories, Ritu! My husband’s mother ironed his underwear. Not me. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. foodzesty
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 07:54:23

    What a great post made me laugh and reminded me of my parents. hahahahhaa

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  21. Kurian
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 06:21:31

    Interesting read Ritu. Long live the oldies

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. IreneDesign2011
    Sep 14, 2017 @ 06:12:12

    Beautiful family memories, Ritu 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. Nardia
    Feb 02, 2015 @ 00:21:33

    How great is it to be able to relive old memories. I’ve lost both my parents, but as a mum to a 2 and a half year old and a 7 month old, I will find myself doing something and all of a sudden an old childhood memory will pop up. Having kids definitely makes me appreciate (and miss) my parents a lot more!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Ritu
      Feb 02, 2015 @ 07:15:44

      I agree, we need to embrace it all hun. And create mad cap memories for our own children to remember about us too… I’m already half way to convincing my two that I am a fruit loop! Xx

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  24. sunsetdragon
    Feb 01, 2015 @ 22:01:24

    I totally enjoyed reading this. What wonderful memories.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. weggieboy
    Feb 01, 2015 @ 21:33:20

    My mother was a swimmer. She taught Red Cross swimming and water safety aide classes for 60 years.

    Later in life, when she was in he early 80s, she and a group of lady friends took turns driving over the the YMCA in the next town to take advantage of an indoor swimming pool.

    One time, the friend driving upset a carload of teen-aged boys by driving too slowly, and the boys flipped off the car load of elderly grandmothers and great grandmothers. The ladies thought it was hilarious! and the flipped off the boys in return!

    The next day, my mother told my father and me about the incident. He told her that that wasn’t too wise to flip off the boys that way and the ladies shouldn’t do that. Then she flipped Dad and me off and laughed.

    Off and on for the next few days, she did this, then laughed. My Dad and I talked about it, and decided she didn’t know what it meant. Dad decided he had to tell her before she got in trouble doing it to the wrong person or people. He was a very straight-laced fellow, though, and was very embarrassed about the prospect of telling Mom the meaning.

    I don’t recall exactly what he said to her, if I ever knew, but he finally got it across to her what it meant. She was very apologetic and said, “We thought it meant kiss my butt!”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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