To this day I don't understand why when I would cry about something my dad would always say:
I will give you something to cry about
Obviously I didn't need that, I was already crying.
I got that one enough to where it stuck. Never made sense, but it generally shut me up.
Another one was... you wait until you have kids. You are going to get paid back for everything you did. HA on you mom .... NO KIDS!!!!
I didn't get told this one much, then again I was the 'good kid' and my sister was the handful. She heard it plenty.
= = =
The one thing that sticks with me is when I was about 7-8 my dad made a statement that scared the hell out of me. I don't recall the setting or what led up to it, but I would guess I was being a typical 7-8 yr old and either whinging or crying about something stupid. Anyway, he says to me
When you get some hair on your ass, we'll take you out in the woods and see what kind of man you really are.
I mean, wtf? First, why do you tell a 7-8 yr old he's going to get hair on his ass? Should I start shaving it just to avoid whatever this is all about? I dunno, but this seems like a qualifier I can neither control nor predict so it's going to show up one day and >BOOM< off to the woods with me. Second, I already hated camping, what the hell is this supposed to mean? You're going to take me out there and leave me? Is there some sort of cult rituals of manhood I haven't been told about yet? This is a wholly frightening proposition on all counts, and I'm too scared and bewildered by the whole statement to even seek clarification - not sure I want it, because it could be worse than my imagination. Bottom line, this one statement has stuck for 40+ yrs and scarred me, obviously. Fuck you, too, Dad.