On the bus this morning, a woman sat across from me sneezing her poor little head off. No one was acknowledging her--so after her third sneeze I slid in there with a tiny little "bless you." She nodded and said "thank you."
I then sat back and thought about the little exchange that just took place. Isn't it totally weird? Why did I feel so compelled to "bless" this stranger? I mean, I'm pretty sure this woman is not coming down with the bubonic plague any time soon. Right?
But then I remembered my upbringing...
Growing up, my dad was always extremely offended if his sneeze was met with silence.
Dad: ACHOOO!
Me: [silence]
Sister: [silence]
Mom: [silence]
awkward silence....
Dad: WELL, GOD FORBID ANYONE SHOULD BLESS ME!
The moral of the story is, if you ever meet my dad and ignore his sneeze--you better not ask him for any favors.
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Greetings!
My name is Amanda... but you can call me Mermanda if you want to. I nest in Pittsburgh with my merman Andrew and Luke, our rescued retired racing greyhound. I'm a full-time publicist and part-time freelance writer (hire me!) with a serious addiction to sushi, live music, ginger snaps, and blawgs, of course.
What else do you need to know? I'm a surprisingly excellent thumb wrestler and I make the best grilled cheese sandwiches around. Yep, that should cover it.
What else do you need to know? I'm a surprisingly excellent thumb wrestler and I make the best grilled cheese sandwiches around. Yep, that should cover it.
cuspofnormal at gmail dot com
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March
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- Hair of the dog... or shriveled guitar player
- Gesundheit!
- Three things that will change your life
- Momma doesn't need a new pair of shoes
- Call me in six months...
- Dear Doctor, Fix Me.
- Answers Part III
- I'm going to beat that groundhog to a pulp
- Snap Snap: A Friday Spoken Word Performance
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18 comments:
people here at work are bless you happy! it's like every little sneeze gets a HUGE bless you. Even if there are a bunch in a row. so annoying.
Until I was 6 I thought it was "Bleshoo."
My Uncle made fun of me FOREVER when he figured out what I was saying.
I sneeze so much that people at work have stopped blessing me. I guess I used them all up.
I stick to gesundheit. Always.
My fiance won't say bless you, so instead he says Chester. Or Swimmies. Yeah we're weird.
I wish there was a different saying for it...because I'm not a fan of "blessing" anyone. Maybe I'll try "Chester" :)
Hahaha I think I'd like your dad.
I believe saying bless you is just good juju. Your goodness will totally come back atcha now.
I work in an office of men so there is no blessing after sneezing. Instead, the guys rates the sneezes. For example: "that one sounded wet!" or "that was a loaded one!"
Yeah, allergy season is fun.
I'm a gesundheit-er. I blessed someone one time and they said that they weren't religious. That ended that.
lol i do that to C all the time. if he doesn't bless me after i sneeze i make a big deal about it :)
according to milhouse, when you sneeze your soul shoots out your nose and when someone says 'bless you' it shoves it back in. makes sense to me!
haha. i don't expect people to say bless you to me any more since i sneeze all the time, it's kind of ridiculous.
I get sad if nobody says bless you, haha! I always remember to say it...even if the person is far away and I have to yell it :x
I'm like your dad...it SERIOUSLY bugs me when nobody says Bless You, Ive even gotten annoyed with my kids when they don't say Bless You to me when I sneeze in their presence LOL I can't help it! I need all the blessings I can get! ;D
I just found your blog...love it! :)
Anyway, I get extra annoyed if I am not "blessed" after I sneeze. I have been known to bless myself out loud occasionally. It's sad, but true.
your dads reaction made me laugh like a crazy. I'm not sure why.
I always say "bless you" and I always feel silly (yet more polite) for saying it.
Ha! That's funny. I actually like it when people say "bless you" when I sneeze to.
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