And Sometimes It's Just Mud in Your Eye

I am very conscious of unusual sayings that come out of my mouth, mainly because they come out a lot. Being a true southern girl from a small town, if my accent doesn't trip you up my local isms will.

I never thought much about how I said things or how I sounded until I met and married Steve, who dragged me off to the big city. Most of my life I have lived around other people who spoke just like I did. And as in most things, ignorance is bliss. If you don't know everyone around you is talking like a hick; you don't change your way of talking.

Another HUGE benefactor in my awareness of my speech patterns is my 20 year old daughter. Every time something odd comes out of my mouth she IMMEDIATELY calls me on it. You would think that would be enough to stop the steady flow of ignorance, but no. Whether from stubbornness, habit, or forgetfulness, I continue on a daily bases to remind everyone around me exactly where I come from.

One thing Tori had helped me with is stopping to think about exactly what I am saying. Many times I have to explain an expression to her before she really grasps where it might have originated from. Sayings like:


Hot enough to fry an egg.

Good enough to make you slap your Momma.

It all comes out in the wash.

Don't have a cow.

It's gonna be a real turd floater.


This new habit of diving to the heart of sayings made me look up a saying I've heard most all my life, "Here's mud in your eye."

I was interested to find out it originated as a toast in horse racing circles. Basically, the person using the toast is congratulating himself. He's telling all those around him that his horse is going to kick mud in their horse's eyes. I actually like the saying more now; it's a little evil.

However, yesterday when I was in the back yard watering plants with Will, it simply meant that for the first time in over 35 years someone actually had the gaul to hit me in the face with a handful of mud. I stood there in shock, staring at the four year old culprit who was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to hyperventilate. All I could think was, "Here's mud in your eye."

And thanks to my slow reaction, I got an instant rerun.