Fun Monday

For this week's Fun Monday, Robin asked us to list our favorite quotes from people who inspire us. You're thinking I picked Jimmy Buffett, right? Ha! Gotcha! That would be too predictable, brothers and sisters, and I like being unpredictable. It keeps people on their toes.

I have lots of sources of inspiration. Most of them are people I cross in everyday life. My parents are a great inspiration to me, and I could give a whole list of those parental sayings, like "Shut the back door. Were you born in a barn?" or "I don't care what everyone else's parents say, you're not going" or my all time favorite, "Knock that off or I'll jerk a knot in your tail". I could quote Miss Katherine at church, who is a huge inspiration, but I've already blogged about her. You can go here to read that one. Instead, I've chosen famous ladies who inspire me. Below are quotes from women I love: Erma Bombeck, Dolly Parton, Zelda Fitzgerald, Cher and Eleanor Roosevelt. I love these women for their individuality and their choice to live life in their own way. They didn't (or don't) worry about what people think about them and achieved great things in the process. I love their gift for words and for practical, down to earth wisdom, so here are a few gems from some strong women. And can I just say, I really, really miss Erma... Oh, and forgive the misalignment of Eleanor's photo. She just wasn't cooperating this morning, but as usual she was doing things her way....

ERMA BOMBECK

People shop for a bathing suit with more care than they do a husband or wife. The rules are the same. Look for something you'll feel comfortable wearing. Allow for room to grow.

My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you?

When mothers talk about the depression of the empty nest, they're not mourning the passing of all those wet towels on the floor, or the music that numbs your teeth, or even the bottle of capless shampoo dribbling down the shower drain. They're upset because they've gone from supervisor of a child's life to a spectator. It's like being the vice president of the United States.

Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery.

DOLLY PARTON

I still close my eyes and go home - I can always draw from that.

I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else.

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

I've always taken risks, and never worried what the world might really think of me.

CHER

The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing - and then marry him.

I don't need a man. But I'm happier with one. I like to have someone I can touch and squeeze and kiss. But I don't fold up and die if I don't have a man around.

ZELDA FITZGERALD

I don't want to live -- I want to love first, and live incidentally.

Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

Anyone who thinks must think of the next war as they would of suicide

A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.

Friendship with ones self is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

I have spent many years of my life in opposition, and I rather like the role.

If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday.

Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.

Women are like teabags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water!

You can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you've become yourself.