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!

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