TEN THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME

I didn’t realize just how wise my mother was until I was well into adulthood. I don’t know exactly when I finally figured it out but it must have been somewhere around the time I started quoting her quaint little sayings and the day I looked in the mirror and saw her reflection looking back at me! My nightmare of becoming my mother happened and as I have discovered, it’s something I am most proud of.

An adage is an old and well-known saying that expresses a general truth. My mother was full of them and seldom a day went by that she didn’t pull one out of her hat and fit it into any conversation or situation. I often wondered, where did she learn these clever and often times annoying quotes? My best guess is that she learned them from her mother. And Grandma learned them from her mother. And so it goes.

Here are some of the things my mother taught me and I must say, they have served me well. As a matter of fact, I wish I could have applied them more often because I’m certain I would have saved myself moments of embarrassment and humiliation.

1. If you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all. (No further explanation needed)

2. Don’t judge a book by its cover. (Do not judge others because we don’t know their struggles, physical pain, pressure, or stress. What I perceive in others may not be their reality!)

3. Laughter is good medicine. (For me, a good cure for the blahs is to watch reruns of Frazier or Seinfeld, SNL skits on YouTube, or spend time with my friends.)

4. Pretty is as pretty does. (Beauty is defined by one’s conduct. This was mother’s way of saying ‘sit down and be quiet!’. Needless to say, I heard this one a lot.)

5. Stand up straight and don’t slouch. (Mother always encouraged me to be proud that I was tall and to carry myself like a lady.)

6. Wash your face and brush your hair before going to bed. (Although this isn’t exactly an adage, it carries a lot of truth. I can count on one hand the times I have gone to sleep at night without washing my face. I can’t promise it will keep the wrinkles away but I do believe it is a
healthy way to end the day – and it makes mother happy.)

7. There’s always a lesson to be learned. (Funny thing about this one is that the older mother becomes, the more often she says this. Or is it that she sees more opportunities for me to evaluate my life and discover what I need to learn from it?)

8. Be Who You Are. (Actually, she often said to “just be yourself”. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. What a simple notion, right? But in our world where we are constantly bombarded by advertisers to look a certain way, it can be difficult to just accept the way I am.)


9. Silence is Golden. (Oh, mother had an arsenal full of quotes, scriptures, and clever sayings about the tongue. Basically, my sassy mouth got me into trouble more than anything else. I’ve proven to be a slow learner in this area.)

And the last thing I learned from my mother was never actually put into words. But she has lived it and by example, I learned it, too:
10. Dwelling on the past is generally a waste of time. (This conjures up feelings of regret, failure, and sadness, all of which are negative and depressing.)

I am blessed to have my mother in my life. She is one of the finest Christians I have ever known. She made a few mistakes along the way but she always strived to follow the Good Book and be the best mother she could possibly be. And that is another truth worth repeating.