Things my mother taught me

[Okie_girl]

With Begonia's recent thread, and Mother's Day (in the US) right around the corner, my mother has really been on my mind lately. I thought I would share a few of the things that she taught me, please feel free to share things about your own mom!

She taught me to love reading.
She taught me to love flowers (any kind, but especially pansies and daffodils)
She taught me how to cook good southern meals.
she taught me to love family history.
She taught me to be responsible.
She taught me to say yes ma'am and no ma'am.
She taught me to do things for other people, but not to toot my horn about it.
She taught me that family (whether birth family or family of choice) is the most important thing.
Most of all, she taught me that no one on earth loves me like she did.

 

[marcy]

Good idea, Okie Girl!

My mom taught me to cherish my family and friends.
She taught me how to cook.
She taught me to be responsible.
She taught me to always try to do everything to the best of my ability.
She taught me to learn from my mistakes.
She taught me to always keep trying.
She taught me to love flowers.
She taught me it is okay to admit I am wrong.
She taught me to write thank you notes.
She taught me to be respectful of other people.
She taught me to be a good hostess and make people feel at home.
She taught me the more the merrier. Our friends were always welcome at our home.

Happy Mother's Day to her and all mothers in PS land!

 

[Begonia]

I like this.

She taught me to laugh and value a sense of humor.
She taught me to look for kindness in people.
She taught me how to talk to anyone - any size, shape, color, age or nationality.
She taught me how to savor a good cup of tea.
She taught me to put the kettle on as soon as someone knocks at the door.
She taught me to treat animals with great gentleness.
She taught me to be careful of what I say, b/c once you say something hurtful it is always there in some form.
She taught me that anything worth doing is worth doing well.
She taught me to clean up my messes in life.
She taught me that good food is a joy.

And when she died, she taught me that the most valuable thing in life are the relationships I have with people, especially my family.

 

[TravelingGal]

She taught me to be proud of being me, even when there wasn't much to be proud of.

And life has taught me that moms really are right!

 

[distracts]

She taught me to budget instead of spending all my money the instant I get it (which I was very bad about in high school).
She taught me to drive.
She taught me to move forward with life even when bad things happen.
She taught me that making mistakes doesn't make you unlovable.
She taught me to bake a really mean cake, and big gooey cookies.
She taught me to be open-minded and not discriminate.
She taught me that it's always okay to ask for help if you need it.
She taught me to give help to those that ask for it and ask those that need it if they would accept it.
She taught me to take care of my pets as their little lives are my responsibility.
She taught me that each thing in the house should have a proper place.
She taught me that patience, kindness, and good humor will often go further than anger and frustration (not that I've always remembered this lesson...).

She did NOT teach me how to cook or clean, much to my grandmother's dismay! (My grandmother is shocked that I was able to find someone willing to marry me with my abysmal cleaning skills. She's told me this several times. She is 94 years old and has not entirely caught up with the times.)

Some of these are double-listed with "Things my dad taught me."

 

[Polished]

My mother taught me so many things in action as oppposed to talking about it.
She taught me fairness,
the joy of sharing,
the security of unconditional love,
the importance of discipline and making the most of my abilities and talents
but how these things could be trumped by good personal qualities such as kindness.
She taught me recipes that are still my favourites today.
And with her passing, I had the privilege of experiencing, the utter desolation, but also the enlightenment, that comes from realising what is truly important in life through feeling the absence of it.
Happy Mother's Day. I hope I get that old cliche - breakfast in bed!

 

[Pandora II]

- to cook for large numbers of people
- that men DO call if they are interested - and don't if they are not
- to never call a man you are romantically interested in
- that leopards never change their spots
- that she is generally right

oh, and the names of most paints on the Farrow & Ball shade-chart...

 

[monarch64]

She taught me how to survive life.

 

[ksinger]

She taught me how to take a joke.

She taught me to be grateful for anything given to me.

She taught me some rock-solid common sense.

She taught me how to handle money.

She taught me when I was 6, that I was allowed to disagree with adults and to think my own thoughts.

She showed me by example of her death, how to endure the unendurable, with grace. Still a bit shaky on that one. We'll see how well I learned that lesson if the time ever comes that I have to put it to use.

 

[Skippy123]

My mom taught me how incredible being nice is to others. It really is contagious! I am blessed to have such a Wonderful mom! I love her dearly!


eta: just a quick story. She taught me material possession are not needed. Awhile back ago, I asked her if she would bring her wedding ring so I could clean it and take a picture of it. She brought it and I took a picture and she took it home. She misplaced it and I felt sick to my stomach over it and I was going to help her find it. I told her how bad I felt. I was thinking of buying her another one if it didn't show up. Anyway, she told me that she did enjoy the ring but she enjoyed her daughters much more and that it wasn't a big deal. She really meant that. So for me she taught me love, and grace are important and material possession, not so much. Anyway she did find her ring which made me super happy.

 

[madelise]

My mom taught me what not to be in life


I'm glad ya'll have such great mommas. My "momma" figure was my gramma. I'm celebrating M-day with her

 

[Skippy123]

My mom taught me what not to be in life


I'm glad ya'll have such great mommas. My "momma" figure was my gramma. I'm celebrating M-day with her

I am sorry but it sounds like you have an incredible gramma so I would love to hear what she taught you!!!

 

[Okie_girl]

My mom taught me what not to be in life


I'm glad ya'll have such great mommas. My "momma" figure was my gramma. I'm celebrating M-day with her

Madelise, I really hope this thread didn't offend....that was not my intention at all. I do realize that not everyone has had positive relationships with their mothers, so if I've offended anyone, please accept my heartfelt apology.

Please tell us about your gramma, Madelise!

Marcy, Begonia, TGal, Distracts, Polished, Pandora, Monarch, ksinger, Skippy...thanks for joining in. I love hearing what you've learned from your moms.

 

[Mayk]

I was adopted...my mother was a wonderful, hard working woman who was independent and excelled in a man's world in her job... She passed away when I was 21 she was 70...

When I was 32 I found my birth mother. She has taught me grace, love, acceptance and sacrifice. We are as close today at 49 as I ever was with my mother. My birth mother made the ultimate sacrifice in making sure I had a loving home. I feel truly blessed... Ive been doubly blessed... She is also a fabulous grandmother to my daughter.

 

[yssie]

That's a lovely story Mayk, that you've been blessed to have relationships with both your mums


My mother, and my father, both taught me
That doing my best would always be good enough,
That the worst thing you can do to a relationship is stop caring about it,
That there is such a thing as unconditional love.


I don't really believe #1.
I take comfort in #2 when DH and I fight - we don't fight often but when we do it's heated.
#3 is the security blanket that I can't imagine having grown up without, or going without in the years to come.

 

[Haven]

Awww, this is a wonderful thread.

My mom taught me that it's okay to be different. And that sometimes, different is preferable to normal.
She also taught me how to kill people with kindness.
And that time is more valuable than money.

 

[madelise]

My mom taught me what not to be in life


I'm glad ya'll have such great mommas. My "momma" figure was my gramma. I'm celebrating M-day with her

Madelise, I really hope this thread didn't offend....that was not my intention at all. I do realize that not everyone has had positive relationships with their mothers, so if I've offended anyone, please accept my heartfelt apology.

Please tell us about your gramma, Madelise!

Marcy, Begonia, TGal, Distracts, Polished, Pandora, Monarch, ksinger, Skippy...thanks for joining in. I love hearing what you've learned from your moms.

Haha, NO!! No offense taken at all I hope it didn't sound like I was? I actually laughed out loud one of those "HAH" things while typing that response :X

I am very lucky to have my grandma. I'd probably be a bum somewheres if it wasn't for her.. seriously. She truly is a godsend for me.

What did I learn from her? The most important thing I learned from her was to be independent, and to create my own future where I can be self-reliant. She taught me not to be like my mom, who isn't self-reliant nor independent. I paid her back by being independent. My mom paid her back by relying on her. lol. You'll see Madelise's book come out in 20 years hahaha.

That, and education, education, education. That woman worked 3 jobs half her life to save every penny to bring her kids here to the US from Taiwan. Both kids never got their bachelors. Us grandkids are here to finally attain that goal and make her proud. She always talks about how she loved learning, but couldn't afford tutoring, so she would work little odds and ends jobs in Taiwan to make her own money that she hid from her mom. She'd use that $ to buy herself Japanese, English and piano lessons.

But yes, not depending on a man, ever. I love my grandpa to pieces. But he wasn't always nice to her. He wasn't faithful. She had to stay for "appearance"-sakes, and for financial reasons. SO told me he didn't care if I worked at a McDonald's, which is awfully sweet of him, I guess. But I won't because I want to be able to pack my bags and leave if I ever am taken for granted.


Thank you for starting this thread. Forcing myself to think of this is really getting me excited for M-day . I can't wait til I give her her present!

 

[Okie_girl]

Madelise, it didn't sound like you had taken offense. I just know that not everyone's relationship with their mother has been all sunshine and roses, so I wanted to be sensitive to that.

So, what did you get your gramma for mother's day? I'm sure she will love it, whatever it is, because she obviously loves you very, very much! She sounds like a pretty amazing woman.

 

[Polished]

Inspiring story madelise.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

My Mom taught me to share--and to always give the "biggest/best" to the other person.....

She taught me the importance of giving others the benefit of the doubt.

My Mother was a great role model for reading, and word useage....I love to read and write and do crosswords......

She taught me to cook and bake and to be creative in the kitchen....and the garbage in garbage out rule with food. I appreciated the high standards she set for me and I now provide it for my family.

Both my parents taught me that having a job is a priviledge, that hard work is the reward, that a job worth doing is worth doing well:, but most importantly they taught me to know the value of a dollar vs. loving money.

cheers--Sharon