Aug 26, 2008

All Grown Up

When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be Dolly Parton. Not be LIKE Dolly, but to actually BE Dolly herself. I would sing along to her records while wearing my yellow pillowcase bobby-pinned to my head for big blonde hair. I cannot count how many times that I have sang Islands In The Stream and Hard Candy Christmas or watched 9 To 5 and Steel Magnolias.

As anatomy goes, I did NOT grow up to be Dolly Parton. Far from it. But as a roll model, I think that she is an awesome person. The music and awards are just the icing on the cake compared to her philanthropy and genuine love of helping people. I can't wait to sign Babybird up for her Imagination Library!

A nasty rumor started circulating this week that Dolly had passed away from congestive heart failure, Dolly fired back to let everyone know that she is still kickin’! I haven’t found the exact quote yet, but I heard on the news this morning that she said "I almost had a heart attack to find out that I was dead."

She cracks me up!


Here are a few of my other favorite Dolly quotes:

You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try.

I'm not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde.

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

I wanted to be the first woman to burn her bra, but it would have taken the fire department four days to put it out.

Some of my dreams are so big they would scare you.

I describe my look as a blend of Mother Goose, Cinderella, and the local hooker!

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


Who (or what) did you want to be when you "grew up"?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

this isn't your question, but thought i'd throw it out there anyway... my favorite dolly quote is related to her shoe size. someone once asked her what size shoe she wore and she said, "i wear a 6, but a 7 feels so good i buy an 8."

she cracks me up too!

Anonymous said...

Barbie! That did not pan out! :) As I got older, I did not think of a specific person but rather I just knew I want to be 'someone'. I really just wanted to be influential in some aspect. I am still not sure if I understand what that means but I guess I want to be remembered for more than just my name...I want to leave a mark on my family, friends, the world.

Ladybird said...

Brandi - I have also heard that she wears a 5 1/2 size shoe. She says her feet were so small, because nothing grows in the shade. LOL!

Anonymous said...

I wanted to be an Elementary School Art Teacher. I figured out in high school that a blank piece of paper could be the best friend you could ever have. You could draw your dreams, paint your nightmares on it, you could write you worries and pen your hurts on it... You could yell and scream at it, tear it, throw it, burn it! And guess what?

It would never run and tell anyone what you said or did, would never betray your trust and would never leave you. I figured back then, coming from one more broken home, that the earlier kids could learn that, not only would the world be a better place emotionally but it may well be more beautiful.

Since then I have come back to Christ and while I still use that illustration with kids and get them to use a notepad to release, I always get them to later understand that God wants to be that piece of paper for us, wants us to unload it all to Him. The only difference? Unlike the paper, God can DO something about the situation, and by offering up yourself and prayers to God, you are definitely making the world a more beautiful place.

Blessings! ~Alan

ShortyMom said...

Can't say there was anyone I wanted to be when I grew up but in h.s. I was determined I was going to be a lawyer. I wanted to argue! But then I woke up and realized that to be a lawyer I had to stand up in front of a room full of people and speak. Um end of dream. So I'm going to apply to be a substitute teacher instead. How's that for irony.