One of the “questions” for this week’s giveaway is to share a quote that means a lot to you, and there sure have been some wonderful ones mentioned in the comments so far!

They all make you stop and think (or giggle, thanks Carol!).

I’ve been trying to decide which quote I would choose if I were to answer the question. I must confess that I do love quotations (which is probably no surprise to you regulars who read my Friday Favorites posts).

Today though, as I was thinking about my favorite, all of a sudden one popped into my mind. It’s not famous. In fact, it may never have been heard by anyone outside of my family. It’s something my father always says just as we are about to drive away after visiting him and my mother. Our seatbelts are fastened and the motor is running. The car window is open, and Dad is standing nearby. We exchange some last minute thoughts, and then as he waves goodbye, he says: “Watch out for the nuts!”

On the surface, this probably sounds pretty comical, but he means: “Be careful driving home – there are crazy drivers on the road.”

We always giggle and immediately reply: “We will!”

The thing is though… Dad is really saying something else – something he would never actually say out loud, and that is: “I love you. Don’t let anything happen to you on the way home.”

He started saying it to us years ago. Since then, my siblings and our kids have also adopted it. We say it to each other all the time as part of a goodbye.

Isn’t it funny how a silly little phrase like “Watch out for the nuts!” can mean so much.