“Look like a girl. Act like a lady. Think like a man. Work like a dog.”

Everybody has family sayings that are passed down from generation to generation. In my family, the one’s I remember come from my maternal grandmother’s line. This title is a quote that was scratched on a small piece of paper in my grandmother’s scrap book. We don’t know where it came from. There is no attribution to it. When my mother read it to me I just laughed and laughed. It sums up their whole female philosophy! No one ever said the phrase to me, when I was growing up, but I sure got the message.

A quick internet search shows the quote in many places. Still no attribution. There is one reference to a plumbing supplies dealer that came under fire for having the quote on cards they passed out. It was listed under the heading “4 things a woman should know”. There are many bulletin board posters that include the quote in their signature. Funny how things like that make the rounds.

As I was researching the quote I came upon something interesting.  Interesting or shows how dense I am.  I always thought the phrase "work like a dog" meant to work very hard and long.  Like a sled dog.  One of the discussions of this implied that it means work as little as possible.  Like my dogs :0)   HMM.  What does 'work like a dog' mean to you?