I’m hoping you can help me solve a little dispute in our household – a battle of memories!
We have lots of silly habits, jokes and sayings, as most families do. But I don’t think there’s too many families where if you announce that you feel like you’re coming down with something, you get a glare along with the order of “DON’T!”.
It might sound mean, but it’s said in jest and all stems from a holiday we took as a family back in 2009 – a South Pacific cruise.
To set the scene – swine flu hysteria was at its peak, and each passenger had to go through a thermal scan at the cruise terminal. Anybody with a fever was not allowed to board the ship.
My Memories
Now this is how *I* remember the incident that led to our private family joke:
On the last night of our cruise, I noticed that my throat was feeling scratchy and sore. We were in the elevator heading to our room when I leaned into the hubster and said, “My throat’s sore, I think I’m coming down with something”.
Instead of the sympathy I’d been expecting, he turned to me with a glare and said, “DON’T!” … yeah, like I could stop myself from getting sick.
His response was so unexpected we all got the giggles, but he explained it was because he was worried that if any of the staff heard us, we would be quarantined and not allowed to leave our cabin. Mind you, it was the last night and we were disembarking first thing the next day, so it didn’t really matter.
From that point on, if anybody in our family says they are coming down with something, they get told DON’T!
Versus His Memories
However, when we were reminiscing about the origin of our silly saying, hubster remembered it completely differently. This is his version:
We were waiting in line at the cruise terminal, ready to board, and had already signed forms to declare that we had no signs of illness. The staff were checking everybody’s temperature when Janet started coughing – which was not exactly a good idea given that it could mean the end of our cruise before it even began!
Then she mentioned that she was feeling sick so I turned to her and told her sternly: DON’T!
It was nearly ten years ago, so it’s understandable that somebody’s memory might have faded over that time. But I am 100% convinced that it is NOT MINE; while my Bear is equally as firm that his memory, is how it really happened.
So dear reader, you be the judge. Who do you think has the correct version of the events that formed our silly saying?!