Mother's Day is just around the corner, and today BlogHer is launching a series called "Mother Knows Best". We're inviting you to join us in celebrating the best things our mothers taught us. In the comments section below, or on your own blog, post about the best lessons you learned from your mom. We'll all learn something!
I'd need multiple posts to share all the things my own mom did right--she's an amazing woman. Now that I know what a hard job parenting is, I look back and marvel at how effortless she made it seem. These are the lessons that have stayed with me the most strongly, and they're the ones I'm trying to teach my own children:
"Take it slowly." My mom reminded me (often) that good things come to those who wait. When I begged to wear a face full of make-up in the seventh grade, she insisted that we add make-up items gradually, over a couple of years. If you get all the goodies of adulthood now, she explained, what new and exciting thing does that leave for next year, and the next?
"I take you seriously." I do not know how my mom kept a straight face raising me. A flightier, more melodramatic girl there could not have been. But as she talked me off ledges, she never minimized my fears or drama or concerns. She listened to me, in all seriousness, and I trusted her because of it.
"I love your dad." It's no small thing for a girl to know her parents are best friends. That sets the bar pretty high.
"Kill 'em with kindess." My mom is the friendliest person I know. I've heard my dad say that the devil himself could move next door, and my mom would bake him cookies. But I watched her, time and again, diffuse difficult situations with her gentle warmth. I watched her like a hawk and tried to learn from her. Still do.
"I'm here." And she always has been. Whether it was a skinned knee when I was eight, or post-partum depression when I was 30, she's just been there, gently rubbing away the rough spots. That's an amazing safety net for a young girl, and a grown woman, and I don't take it for granted for even a minute.
I'm a lucky girl.
Shannon Lowe is a BlogHer Contributing Editor (Mommy/Family), and she also writes at Rocks In My Dryer. If you'd like to participate in this blog carnival, leave your link to your own Mother Knows Best post below.
Comments
A mother's unconditional love
"Regardless of what you do, or what happens to you, I will always love you. There is nothing that you can do to make me stop loving you. Even if you mess up terribly, I will still be there for you".
Vered DeLeeuw
www.momgrind.com
Best Lesson
When in doubt, don't.
How to arrange flowers
It makes me happy in the doing and the giving away...
Be independent
My mother taught me to take care of myself. And to be proud that I can. She was always willing to help when I needed it, but she expected me to do all that I could first.
I love your Dad
One thing I appreciate probably more than anything is that my mom respected my dad unwaveringly through my childhood, even though he was a strong-tempered man. Any disagreements must have been behind doors, at least on her part. I had a secure & loving childhood although I don't really get along with my dad...
Little bits of wisdom
To always do your best and be the best you can be.
Be honest and trustworthy.
Don't rely on others for financial freedom, get it for yourself.
Anna
http://hullabalooloo.blogspot.com
Still thinking
I'm trying to figure out exactly how to blog my own Mother Knows Best post - part of me is tempted to blog a bit of snark about all of the things my mom did not teach me, because it would be fun and not serious and i could make my mom laugh. I don't really DO serious unless I have to.
But, another part of me is thinking it might be time for a serious mom post. Because my mom is fantastic and I probably haven't really mentioned it - all at once.
Decisions, decisions. In the meantime, I'll be reading this and enjoying all of your great moms. Mom wisdom ROCKS, doesn't it?
~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Flamingo House Happenings
It's the Moment, not the Day
Mom took the pressure off the date on the calendar. There were birthdays, a few Christmas mornings and other annual celebrations that were delayed because we lived paycheck to paycheck. She taught me to celebrate what I could afford when I could afford it.
Moments & Things
"Even a smile is charity."
more than 3 things
My mom taught by example--many more than 3 things, but I will list 3 here, otherwise I would end up with a book.
1. Women are strong. We can do anything. Stand up for what you believe in. She never said it, but from watching her I knew. For a mom in the 50's-early 60's this is a big deal.
2. Childhood is an adventure. Get messy. Think creatively.
3. I trust you. "If there is something you do that you don't want to tell me, then I don't want to know." This alone kept me from taking a lot of risks. But it did not stop my sister.
Oh, and stop whining and be nice. But I didn't listen to this advice too much when I was a kid.
Have Faith
You can never change the challenges that God gives you. You can only make those challenges into blessings because God will never give you more then you can handle.
Kelsey Smith
http://kelseysmith.typepad.com/
momisms
What a lovely idea! Like many of you have said, way too many to list (my mom sent me to college with a list of "mommy nags") but the one that sticks with me...
"When people show you who they are... believe them."
Time and time again, this gets proven true. Darn her.
for the lighter side of mom (and moms I've loved) check out my momisms and please add some of your own!
washy
http://washwords.wordpress.com
washwords.dc@gmail.com
Take nothing for granted,
Take nothing for granted, appreciate everything you have.
www.the-glass-jar.blogspot.com
Oh my mom is FULL of ADVICE!
Oh my mom is FULL of ADVICE! And even if I don't agree with all of it.....I appreciate that she cares enough to give it. I have put up 3 of my favorite 'catch phrases'.....you know the ones you use on your own children!
Check it out:
http://www.theglamorouslifeblog.blogspot.com
Have a great day- now go give some advice!
Squeezing into Someones too Tight Peep-Toe
Pumps
My feet have always been alot bigger than my moms. However she knew how to wear my dads triple E wing-tips, and the rival trophy-wife's peep-toe pumps with amazing ability...
....what my mom taught me
Rebecca
Mother's Advise
As a new teacher, she told me that the secretary and the janitor were my best friends and that I could never get harder (more strick) only easier (more lenient) so far as behaviorial expectations for my students (sort of the don't smile until Christmas attitude~~which worked, btw). And she was right on both counts!
Sioux's Aubergine Pensées
Survival
I think the best thing my mother taught me wasn't something she ever said. It was how she lived.
My mother taught me to be a fighter. Through being a single mother, to battling cancer for almost 15 years, my mother showed a tenacity that can be unrivaled. Even though in the end, the cancer "won", my mother even held out longer than doctors thought possible, leaving this earth on her terms, not the cancer's.
The past few years, I have gone through losing her and most of my family, having my husband deploy multiple times, and giving birth to premature babies. I think my mom's greatest legacy is that I am still here, and fighting.
What My Mom Said...
It really so much wasn't what she said as so much as the look I got when she could tell when I was up to something or thinking about something the wrong way.... *sigh*
My mom said to me once - and I always thought it as strange - "you won't believe me until you're older that I know what I'm talking about. You don't want my advice now, just wait, you'll be asking me for it when you get older." She was right. :)
http://www.therockstarchicks.com
Passion for politics
Sacred duty in my family! :)
Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette
The strength to be a mom myself
I never could have made it through the rough first years of motherhood if I hadn't had my mom for inspiration.
I blog on Notions of Identity
I wrote this about my mom this winter.
Tributes to my mom
I just posted two tributes to my mom on blogher that I'd posted previously on my blog. One is called "The Power of Hips." The other is called "I wish I could sew like my mother."
She's fabulous. She made a way when there was little-to-none.
I am not afraid of loving my mother now, me, who used to climb out of doors and windows to get away.
Motherly zutzing
What would a mother-daughter relationship be like if we couldn't tease each other?
Happy Mother's Day, BlogHers. :)
Jill
Writes Like She Talks