By JANET HART LEONARD
From the Heart
“Well, someone needs to have a knot jerked in their tail.” Oh, my goodness, whenever I heard my mother say that, I knew someone was not in her good graces.
It is a southern expression that my mom and my aunts would say when they felt great dismay for someone or disdain in their actions … usually it was both.
My mother was not a woman prone to confrontation, so I knew if it was necessary for her to do so … it was necessary.
She never did it out of meanness. She did not have a mean bone in her body.
Mom taught me that you need to be held accountable for your words and actions. She expected others to follow the same teachings.
If you crossed the line into her family and did them wrong, she would make it known that it was an unacceptable thing to do. Thus, jerk a knot.
Mom never would swear or tell anyone where they should go, but you might have been given directions.
Mom was kind and she was nice, but if pushed or prodded her into a corner, she wasn’t afraid to inform you of your wrongdoings. Her pointer finger was armed and dangerous.
We live in a world where being held accountable for one’s actions or words seems to be well, let’s just say … missing in action.
This week, as I heard “someone” give denials and excuses for what they “supposedly” did to numerous people, I felt my eyes begin to roll. They kept rolling and I thought I was going to sprain them. I could just hear my mother saying something about a jerk and a knot.
My mother also taught me that your sins will find you out. The greatest detective work is not done by the FBI but by a mother on a mission to find the truth.
One of the most important things a parent can teach a child is to take responsibility. Another thing, running a close second, is to say “I’m sorry” and mean it. Being sorry for something just because you got found out does not count.
Excuses for meanness are just that – excuses. My mother always called things as she saw them. I learned well from her.
I try to be nice and kind and tolerant, but if you step on the toes or the heart of one of my kids or grandkids, you might just hear a sermon on the 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not mess with my chicks.” If so, you might just hear the angry cackle of a woman who is madder than an old wet hen.
Trust me, I do know how to jerk a knot in someone’s tail, and I remember well how to pitch a hissy fit.