“De grão em grão, a galinha enche o papo”

My mom is a very superstitious person and has a strong belief in faith. She has many sayings that she uses on a daily basis to teach lessons about life. I grew up listening to her proverbs and attempting to use them in my life because all of them are meaningful to her and I think it became meaningful for me too. This is her proverb and the story behind it:

“Eu costumo falar um dito popular: de grão em grão a galinha enche o papo. A primeira vez que eu ouvi foi a minha avó falando,  depois a minha mãe. Hoje em dia, sou eu que falo. Então é uma tradição de família falar esse dito popular. Foi passada de geração para geração e eu espero poder continuar com essa tradição. Isso representa para mim o não desperdício. Se você consegue guardar e não gastar demasiadamente, você vai ter no futuro. É importante porque é algo que todas as pessoas têm que ter em mente. Isso se aplica para muitas coisas mas principalmente o dinheiro, que é o que te faz conseguir viver. Outro também que eu costumo usar é: sabendo usar, não vai faltar. E acho que esse se aplica bem ao que eu falei antes. São relacionados e muito importantes para mim. Portanto, costumo falar com frequência.

The proverb is “from grain to grain the hen fills her belly.” My mom says that the first time she heard it was from her grandmother, then from her mother. Nowadays, she’s the one who says it. So it is a family tradition to speak this popular saying. It has been handed down from generation to generation and she hopes to continue with this tradition. It represents to her the act of not wasting/spending. She says that if you can save and not spend too much, you will have it in the future. It is important because it is something that all people have to keep in mind. This applies to many things but especially to money, which is what makes you live. I believe this is extremely important to keep in mind because little by little things get to an end. It reminds me to always try to manage my money in a way that it lasts. I apply this to my life with my college budget because if I start spending money on unnecessary things the money will soon come an end. I believe that life is always about balance and knowing what is worth doing. Therefore, I am always attempting to keep this in mind and as a family tradition I will pass it down to the future generations.