Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day: Life Lessons

Moms are great. They take care of you as a baby; feeding, changing, clothing, entertaining, curing, hydrating. This continues throughout your childhood and adolescent years, while adding more complicated things as your progression as a human continues, such as conversation and negotiating.

Mothers become more than just our 24-hour babysitters. They become nurses, coaches, bank tellers, counselors, chauffeurs, teachers, maids, chefs, seamstresses, and in my case, dads too. And for others, much more.

Moms teach us many life lessons. For some people, there is one lesson, one instance of a childhood or adolescent memory that stands out in particular. Something you learned that you will never forget.

I don't have a memory like that.

I've had a ton of great times with my mom. Feeding ducks at the pond, bowling, ice skating, card and board games, baking cookies, playing Double Dare and hitting each other in the face with whipped cream pies (oh yeah, we did it).

But I never had that one specific moment that stuck out like a sore thumb, that life lesson I will remember forever. Maybe my memory isn't that great. Maybe we never had those moments together. Or, maybe it's because moms never stop teaching us.

Moms are wise individuals. They've lived and learned, they've experienced life on many levels. They've had ups and downs, just like the rest of us. And all they want is for their kids to grow up to be happy, decent, successful people. For that to come to fruition, it takes much more than one life lesson. Rather, those lessons are infinite. Until the grim day that we part ways on this Earth, moms never cease to give us their knowledge.

My mom taught me many things. And, not always just with words, but by her behavior and actions as well. Here is just a snippet of the numerous life and other lessons I have received (in no particular order):

  1. Treat others how you want to be treated. You wouldn't want someone to bully you, be mean to you, or put you down, so don't be that person to someone else.
  2. Know when to stand up for yourself. Just because you are a nice person, doesn't mean you have to be a doormat. People may mistake kindness for weakness, but don't let them.
  3. Work hard, and go for what you want in life. Complacency will lead you nowhere, except exactly where you are. If you want to achieve something, or change something in your life, you won't get it by staying where you are. Do something about it.
  4. If I have to lie to Mom about it, it's probably not a good idea.
  5. Know when to walk away. It is infinitely better to be single than to be with someone who is not good for you. Stand up for yourself. Know that you are better and more than a relationship.
  6. Animals have souls, too. If there are no dogs in Heaven, we are boycotting. Assuming we make it.
  7. If you have to, set two alarms. Or three, or four...
  8. Act appropriately for your audience/situation. This does not mean change you are depending on who you are with. However, you cannot always exhibit the same behavior with friends as you can with professionals at work.
  9. Sometimes, life sucks, and you have to deal with it.
  10. And sometimes, you just need to live it up and have fun. It's okay to act like a kid again every once in a while.
That's just a taste. I think I'll keep the rest to myself.

Thank you Mom, for everything you've done and continue to do. I love you. Happy Mother's Day.



Mama’s Losin’ It

2 comments:

  1. Woo! An awesome visitor thought! What a great label. I enjoyed your post - it is so true!!

    ReplyDelete

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