Some things I learned and some I didn’t from my mom

(For the record, I’m the adorable one in the middle with the Fred Flintstone feet.)

(This is a repost from last Mother’s Day, but everything still applies.)

What my mother didn’t teach me that I learned the hard way:

• that forgiveness is a gift you give yourself
• that God is my everything
• that having a newborn is not for the faint of heart
• that seeing your child in pain is excrutiatingly more difficult than your own pain
• that I really am creative, just not in the same ways she is
• that not all men are creeps
• that marriage isn’t a fairy tale, it’s a constant work in progress
• that just because it’s true, doesn’t mean it’s not gossip
• that mother’s aren’t perfect, but love covers a multitude of sins

Things I learned from my mother:

• to make lemonade when life give you lemons, even if it’s still a little bitter
• that creativity and a little elbow grease can go a long way
• to respect your elders even if you don’t agree with them
• to always say please and thank you
• that steamed rice goes with just about anything, even spaghetti sauce
• that when there’s nothing to laugh about, you can always laugh at yourself
• to always put the needs of others before your own
• to do an honest day’s work
• that happiness is a warm puppy – even the 3 legged variety
• that sometimes life is just about endurance
• that actions always speak louder than words
• to pick myself up and dust myself off
• to never say “I’ll never do that with my kids.”
• that the youngest child usually gets their way by means of wearing you down
• that the youngest child gets sucker punched in the back when mom’s not looking (okay, my sisters and brother taught me that one – frequently)
• that cute goes a long way, but character will go the distance
• to be a subservient and submissive wife (okay that one didn’t really take)
• that giving to others is infinitely more satisfying that hoarding things for yourself
• that true beauty comes from within

Thanks, mom. I am a better mom because I am your daughter.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms, daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters!