Mom, it's hamburger, not hambooger. . .
My 21 year old son stands in the kitchen laughing as I try to say hamburger and wash the correct way. What he doesn't get is I am a born and bred Oklahoman. In Oklahoma my way is the right way. But we now live in Kentucky where he has spent more of his life.
We giggle as he keeps trying to teach me to say waaash. . .nor warrrsh. Hambuuuurrrger. . .not hambooooger.
"Mom, quit pursing your lips, open your mouth more. . .waaash.
"Warrrsh".
"Ok Mom, let's try hambuuurger."
"Hamboooger."
I try it over and over and over in between the giggling. He's cracking up.
The scene enters my mind from the musical My Fair Lady where Henry Higgins tries to teach Eliza Doolittle to speak like a proper English lady, thereby making her presentable to high society.
She had to keep repeating over and over and over the phrase. . ."The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain", until she got it right.
I can say that!
My son does not care about high society, he just thinks his mom should be able to say those two little words properly. What he doesn't get is that in Oklahoma, that is proper. But I'm not there anymore, so should I try harder?
I think about the people born and raised in the South with their Hey Darlin's? Don't they know there is a "ing" on the end of that word. Personally, I think it's charming. And after being in Kentucky for ten years, I'm becoming more charmin' myself.
The the more I think about it, I think it could be charming that I say what I say the way I say it. It's really hard to purse the lips with words you're not used to pursing for and to open the mouth wider for words you don't normally open the mouth wide for. It's SO much work. I can lose the "ing" but I just cannot seem to lose the R in warsh and I'm sorry, but hambooger is just so much easier for me to say.
I love you son but I just don't think I can think so hard every time I say those words.
I don't think he really cares. It gives him something to laugh at and I am AOK with that.
I've wasted enough time here. I need to go tell my son to bring the warsh to the laundry room and then we need to go get some hamboogers. I'm hungry! And a sweet tea on the side.
Wouldn't that be loverly?!
3 comments:
What a funny post. I have to learn norwehian language too and it was really hard to pronounce their æ, ø, å :)
My husband was born in Tennessee and spent a good part of his growing up there. It took quite awhile for him to loose his drawl and some of the words used there. I cain't hep it ! Yu-all. You no doubt have some like expressions similar!
Such a cute post.
Post a Comment