Growing up in Texas was awesome. Here are 30 signs that you did.
Looking to showcase your Texan-ness? Click Here.
1. There Was A Piñata At Most of the Birthday Parties You Went To
I’m 28 years old and I still have piñatas at my birthday party. You’re never too old to have one.
2. You know what “Raise The Flag” means
Seriously though. All restaurants should have a little flag on the table. It’s probably the best restaurant idea ever.
3. Eating Twang Pickle Salt out of your palm was a regular occurrence
My mouth is watering just looking at that picture.
4. Shortly after learning to walk, your Dad taught you how to get him a beer (and open it)
This is what your parents mean when they say “it’s time for you to start pulling your weight around here.”
5. You learned at a very young age what this means
No explanation needed. If you need one, you belong in New Jersey.
6. You learned how to two-step at Garner State Park
Summer night dances at Garner State Park should be mandatory for all Texans. It’s the first place you dance as a kid for many folks. If you did, there’s a good chance you grew up in Texas.
7. You spent your summers at a Astroworld / Fiesta Texas / Six Flags Over Texas
RIP Astroworld, but long live Six Flags. Getting your season pass when we were kids was a rite of passage.
8. Your summer wasn’t complete until you had a scoop of this
Seriously though. It’s the best ice cream in the country.
9. THIS was the only way to get Whataburger Ketchup when you were a kid
When I was a kid, you couldn’t buy Whataburger Fancy ketchup at the store. We had to walk uphill both ways in the snow fire ants, to get it.
10. You have at least one photo your parents took of you dressed up western
Long. Live. Cowboys. (and Cowgirls)
11. You learned about this in school
Texas History is amazing. It’s a story of freedom and awesomeness. If you grew up in Texas I don’t need to tell you that though. You already know.
12. This was your reaction when your Mom or Dad brought home Whataburger
Seriously though. Who the heck wants McDonalds? Gross.
13. Against the wishes of your parents, you had a collection of these
Having a collection of Whataburger numbers is part of being Texan. Just don’t tell Whataburger I told you that.
14. This was your parents’ idea of a baby swing
Texans are problem solvers, which is why this swing just makes sense. When you’re not driving the truck around, it’s just sitting there not being used. Why not use it as a swing?
15. You were always jealous that you never got to build a real snowman as a kid
This is about as close as you’ll get to a real snowman, unless you live in the Panhandle.
16. You heard the story about the school bus and train accident and the supposed haunting
We all heard it as a kid. A school bus stalled out on some train tracks. A train was coming. It hit the school bus and killed all of the children instantly. Now, if you go park on the train tracks at night, the ghosts of the children will push you across. It’s been studied by ghost hunters, and regular folks alike. I heard the story as a kid, and so has everyone else who grew up here.
17. You still have nightmares of sliding down one of these during the summer with shorts on
3rd. Degree. Burns. Metal slides should seriously be banned in this state.
18. You can’t believe people in other states don’t do Homecoming Mums
Yeah. It’s true. Texas is pretty much the only place that does mums. Let it soak in. It was devastating to hear when I found out too.
19. You know how un-fun it is to have a tube that is too big for you
If you grew up in Texas, you probably spent some time in a tube floatin’ down a river, which means you know how un-fun it is to be in an adult sized tube as a kiddo. You spend the whole day makin’ sure your rear doesn’t scrape rocks.
20. Your parents have pulled over and made you take a picture in a field of these
Bluebonnets are as Texas as Pecan Pie and George Strait, which means when they start sproutin’ up, our parents LOVE to make us take pictures in them.
21. You knew more about gun use and safety at age 9 than folks in other states know at age 79
Gun safety is the most important part of gun ownership. With a state that exercises the right to bear arms as much as ours, most of us learned a lot about it as children.
22. You would terrorize other children by putting these down their shirts
June bugs are hilarious. They seem to have the worst sight in the insect world. They bounce around randomly and bump in to nearly everything, which makes them the perfect terrorizing insect as a kid.
23. You have manners
Before spankin’ your kids was politically incorrect, some of us had one, or two, or three red bottoms growing up. It has translated to us having manners and knowing how to mind our parents. We say yes ma’am/sir, no ma’am/sir, and please/thank you.
24. You’ve heard of “Ima” and “Ura” Hogg
A lot of folks have heard about Governor Hogg who named his two girls Ima and Ura. Most folks believe the story to be true. Well, it’s only kinda true. There was an Ima Hogg, but she never had a sister named Ura. Regardless of what’s true or not, it’s a sure sign you’ve grown up in Texas if you’ve heard it.
25. You were terrified of the Chupacabra
The one sure-fire way my parents could scare me in to acting right, was to talk about the Chupacabra. That weird mythical creature scared me a heck of a lot more than a whoopin’ did.
26. You recognize this
This little book was the first step in getting your license to drive for a long time. Unfortunately they recently changed the cover.
27. Pickles and Pickle Juice are some of your favorite snacks
I don’t know what it was about pickles, but any time we needed a snack, pickles were the first choice of a lot of us.
28. Going to Schlitterbahn during the summer was like going to Disney World
Disney World doesn’t have anything on Schlitterbahn. Miles upon miles of water rides and outdoor carpet…yes, green outdoor carpet, made it a summer time oasis for us Texans who grew up here.
29. Friday Night Lights is like one long flashback to your days in high school
Watching this TV show is seriously like watching home movies of our high school years.
30. You could play with your Christmas presents outside because, well…Texas weather is always hot
One fact of life in this state is that the weather is super unpredictable. Despite that, if you’re a bettin’ person you can bet on it being warmer than usual. December is one month that falls in that category. It might randomly get cold, or rain, but it’s generally always warmer than you’d expect, which means your parents could buy you things that you could enjoy outside, and you’d actually get to try them out that day.
