Some of Mama’s sayings confused the daylights out of us children. These tended to be the old Jamaican/British proverbs or parables.
If we saw our mother looking worried about something, and asked her what was wrong, she might tell us this story:
“Little Pig said to Mama Pig: ‘Mama, why is your snout so long?'”
“Mama Pig replied: ‘Ah, m’child. You’re growing up, one day you will find out for yourself.'”
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What kind of answer was that? And I didn’t like the idea of being compared to pigs. But she never explained what she meant.
In later years, I figured it out:
1: It was ‘adult business’ that was worrying her – we were too young for her to share it with us.
2: The troubles of life can make a person weary and ragged. Sometimes it’s hard for a child to understand. But, when we grew up, we would.
At least, that’s what I think she meant.