Mothers Day version! (Sorry I’m late in posting today; the Js just left after an awesome sleepover.)
Day 7
Name one life lesson or epithet your mother used that has stuck with you all your life.
My mother repeatedly told me, “If you tell the truth, you’ll never have to keep track of what you say.”
Good advice.
What did your mama teach you? And Happy Moms Day to all moms and those who function as moms.
“Make sure you wash your bra well, that helps keep the BO down”. Honest. That’s all I can think of. Mom, or Dad for that matter, weren’t big in the hugs or giving advice area. I learned a lot of things from both of them but that was more from observation or the “sink or swim” version of upbringing. Sounds harsh but that’s was how it was done in my family.
I turned out pretty well, I think. And my bras are always fresh-smelling.
HAAA — that is awesome. And you know, there are all types of effective parenting. And your parents (like mine) were more “old school” than most parents today. And we turned out all right, didn’t we??
When you go on a family vacation, moms need some vacation time, too. When we bought my great-grandmother’s cabin in Minnesota & fixed it up to eventually be a summer/retirement home for the folks, one of the first appliances mom/dad bought was a dishwasher.
Mom said, “hey – I’m on vacation too & I’ll be darned if I’m going to spend it doing dishes!” LOL
I’M WITH MOM!!!!
No one statement jumps out at me but my mother did instill this life lesson in me…..my grandma had to work when my Mom was growing up so she so she always came home to an empty house. She didn’t like that so my Mom always made sure that whenever humanly possible she was around when I got off the bus. Even to this day I make an effort to be home when the school day ends. My baby graduates 3 weeks from today….I wonder how long it will take me to adjust to not being home by 3:30 every day!?!?!? Life lesson learned…….just spend time with your kids!!
And to think that those days are gone for so many families now…we both remember a time when Mom was always waiting at home for us after school. So many don’t have that privilege today. I’ve heard it said that you can wrack your brain trying to come up with ways to make your kids happy, when in reality, all they want is your time.
“It’s better to care too much than care too little”.
WTG, Ma.
Well there were, of course, many lessons that my mother taught me. Your truthfulness lesson reminded me of a particular one of my mother’s: “There are only two people that you can never lie to under any circumstance – your doctor and your lawyer.” LOL.
HA – no joke – especially the lawyer!
Mom was/is big on table manners, and made sure all 4 of us knew how to set a formal table, and which fork to use and the difference between a wine glass and a water glass, etc. She said, ‘You never know when you might be in a situation where you will have to know these things.’ Sure enough, my brother got invited to a fancy-schmancy shindig one evening with a bunch of his friends and he reported later, ‘I was the only one who knew what all the silverware was for.’ Way to go, mom!
PK
Now that is one thing I had to learn on my own. And I don’t think I ever made a lesson out of it with my boys, either, come to think of it. And Mama was right: you never know when you’ll “need” those skills. Yay for mom!
Now that Mama is living with me I find myself saying things to her all the time to remind her of a different way of thinking. Recently I said, “My mother always said that if you concentrate on how miserable you are, then you are guaranteed to be miserable. If you concentrate on your blessings you will only see goodness.” She was not often full of great wisdom, but this is a truth I try to live by and now am trying to encourage her to embrace it again too.
Funny that I should read this on this very morning. I was just thinking how horrendous my schedule is for the next 20 days. It’s the absolute worst time of the year for me. But then I said to myself, “Just stop dwelling on that part of it and enjoy the ride…it’s going to happen whether you want it to or not.” Mama’s words ring true, and it really is great advice. *hugz*
You know, the best advice mom gives me is “do what you want to do.” It sounds like she’s just being uninvolved, but she made me realize it’s okay to be selfish in some things and that I can’t please everyone. I’m learning to be okay with it. I think (correct me if I’m wrong) that makes me more like her. I’m okay with that, too.