My dad used to say ‘be careful in giving someone a yard, the next thing you know they would want a mile,’ and my mother would say ‘be that yardstick of the best quality and do it better than your best,’ which not surprisingly always seemed to follow house chores that didn’t meet her yardstick of measuring cleanliness.
I never quite knew what that yardstick of hers was except she liked us polishing the floor till it was shiny enough to eat food off it and somehow we always managed to spill our food, then we picked it up, dusted if off and ate it. It’s amazing how strong we were back then and we had no worries about microbes. Now, even with all the advancement in technology and medical sciences, the names of diseases keep growing in numbers.
I like the saying ‘going the whole nine yards,’ though I have always wondered why nine yards and not ten, eleven, twelve or seven yards even. I am the going the whole nine yards kinda girl. I would give it my all till I’ve got nothing more to give – I guess when a person has taken all the nine yards that I can afford to give them I stop cutting them any more slack and fabric lest I find myself naked and in need of yards myself and that’s when I remember my dad’s words about those who would want a mile.
So, are you the whole nine yards type of person or do you hold back some of the yardages as backup 😉
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
a cooking pot and twisted tales 
I think I am probably like you in that I have a limit and when I reach it, watch out if you ask me for more.
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Great blog post as always. When I was a kid and you dropped food on the ground the saying was, “Kiss it up to God” then eat it! Also my parents taught me to set boundaries and not allow people to walk all over me. I was a little too kind hearted for my own good! However after getting burned numerous times I learned my lesson in dealing with manipulators.
I did some research on the Whole Nine Yards expression.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_whole_nine_yards
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Truly if we don’t set those boundaries we get manipulated to no ends. It’s interesting how phrases get to become a manner of speaking. I enjoy learning such trivia and history.
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I give the “whole nine yards” at work, but am a little less focused at home. I think when you give it all in one area of your life, there isn’t much left for the rest. I’m hoping when I retire, that will change.
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I can quite understand that. Besides our home is where we get to truly be at home, with less need to be perfect in our service. Definitely when you retire you will have more time for yourself and the finer things of life 🙂
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I probably give too much sometimes Jacqui, but am learning to stop!
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