It’s Mother’s Day! If you’re like us, you have that in-brain home movie running, flipping through all of the advice/sayings your mother said, perhaps a very long time ago.
We thought it would be fun to put together “a Mother’s Manual” of sorts. We polled our writers, and our readers, and here’s some of the responses:
From Our Readers:
“If you got it, flaunt it. If you don’t-pretend like you do!”
Mary Bedwell Jacob
“Learn a trade so that no matter what happens, you can land on your own two feet and be independent.”
Flora Nicole
“You don’t have to get married to be happy and fulfilled.”
Anastacia Lara-Duarte
“Try your best to always treat everyone with kindness even if someone treats you unkindly, because none of us know what the other person is dealing with.”
Jeanette Buse
“Go to bed, sleep on it and things will look better in the morning!”
Molly Bentley
“A courting male is a paragon of deception!”
Diane Turner
“Make sure it’s clean and paid for.”
Sunnye Iambe Gwennyn Harrison
“Be careful who you date-you never know who you’re going to fall in love with.”
Gail Loewen
From Our Writers
“There is no small deed if it’s done with love.”
“When you walk into a room, never think here I am, think there you are!”
“If you can’t say something kindly, don’t say anything at all.”
“You get about 15 minutes between acne and wrinkles. Enjoy them.”
“My mother said to never let anyone else ever determine for me what I could or could not do—that if I believed in myself enough, I would be able to do anything I set my mind to. She said she doubted I would ever believe I could do something for which I was truly not qualified.”
“To whom much is given, much is required.”
“Always be kind.”
“Always wear a slip, sit like a lady, never share your lipstick, be sure to leave a little food on your plate when you’re out on a date.”
“Always take care of your health because if your not healthy you cannot take care of your family.”
“Be careful what you wish you, you might just get it!” (My Mother was an only child and wished for six children when she married my Dad. And they did indeed have six children!)
“I don’t have the actual words she said, but my mother was a great role model for being game to try new things and didn’t hesitate to figure out how to make whatever she wanted to do happen.”
“When you get married, do not start doing things you aren’t willing to do for the rest of your life!”
“Always be courageous.Seek happiness and be kind.”
“Never run away from an adventure.”
“It’s okay to let a great opportunity go if it doesn’t make you happy.”
“My mother, a teacher, knew how to bake her values into our beings through rhymes and affirmations that she repeated all of the time:
Good, better, best.
Never let it rest
Until your good is even better
And your better is best.”
“My mom was always right there when someone complimented me on my looks. She would add, “She’s smart too!” Ever reminding me that WHAT I did and WHO I was, was most important.”
“As a child, I was self-conscious about my freckled face. To boost my little-girl confidence, my mom gave me a framed print that read, “A girl without freckles is like a night without stars.” Many years have passed, and most of my freckles have faded, yet I still see that print each day and feel my mother’s love.”
“My mother, a lawyer, always played devil’s advocate. Whatever opinion anyone held, she argued for the opposite, regardless of her own highly opinionated views. It taught me to always see the other person’s point of view.”
“Much of what I learned from my mother was from her actions. I believe her philosophy, whether she realized it or not. was a large influence in my life. She never gave up and always kept moving forward in life, even if it was hard, uncomfortable and at times very difficult.”
Thanks to all who contributed to this article! PW
