Today is my mom's birthday, so today's Ten Things of Thankful is written in her honor.
Ten Lessons I'm Thankful Mom Taught Me:
1. It's important to think of others. One of Mom's favorite questions to me was, "How would you feel?", meaning, "Try to put yourself in that person's shoes and be compassionate, patient, and kind."
2. It's important to do your best, and if you've given your best effort, that's enough. I distinctly remember being devastated with the first "B" on my report card, and Mom (and Dad) telling me that as long as I did my best, it was OK. (I was a bit slow in figuring out that "best" meant "best while maintaining balance in life", but that was my misinterpretation of their advice, not a problem with the delivery.)
3. It's important to work hard. I don't know anyone who works harder than my mom. She is thorough, she is quick, and she is accurate. If she were a juggler, she'd be throwing balls, lighted torches, and sharp knives, all while balancing on a tightrope with her eyes closed. Yep, that's Mom. I can hear her protesting now, but it's true!
4. It's important to eat healthy foods (but homemade dessert is enjoyable, too.) Mom fixes the best meals--nutritious and delicious. And she feeds me raspberries every time I visit.
5. It's important to keep learning. Mom researches like no one else. If she has a question, she figures out the answer. She even did this back in the pre-internet era. Now it's easy: type a question, up pops an answer. If the internet suddenly didn't exist, Mom could still find answers to her questions.
6. Family matters. Not only does Mom keep track of her children and grandchildren, she pretty much knows all the leaves on the family tree. Remember the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", where the father could explain how any word has Greek origins? Well, Mom can explain how anyone is related in our family tree. He is the husband of grandma's second-cousin's daughter.
7. It is important to have fun. I learned this over and over, while losing to Mom in Scrabble. She takes top honors in sportsmanship, though, complimenting my 12-point word, while simultaneously placing all of her tiles on a triple-word square. (OK, maybe I'm exaggerating--but not by much!)
8. It's important to apologize. Especially after deciding (Why?) to hide in your daughter's open closet, and realizing after the earth-shattering scream (Funny, I've never knew I had "primal scream" inside me) that perhaps this was a bad idea. Don't worry, Mom. I've long since forgiven you. Now we can laugh about it. You always were such the practical joker. (NOT!)
9. It's important to share new ideas. Mom often calls me to tell me about a new recipe, a new cleaning tip, a new book, a new movie, etc.
10. It's important to live a life of integrity. Mom is honest, and she lives what she believes. She has never had to say, "Do what I say, not what I do." She sets a great example for me.
Happy birthday, Mom. I hope you're having a great day. I love you!
Thanks for Mom.
Ten Lessons I'm Thankful Mom Taught Me:
1. It's important to think of others. One of Mom's favorite questions to me was, "How would you feel?", meaning, "Try to put yourself in that person's shoes and be compassionate, patient, and kind."
2. It's important to do your best, and if you've given your best effort, that's enough. I distinctly remember being devastated with the first "B" on my report card, and Mom (and Dad) telling me that as long as I did my best, it was OK. (I was a bit slow in figuring out that "best" meant "best while maintaining balance in life", but that was my misinterpretation of their advice, not a problem with the delivery.)
3. It's important to work hard. I don't know anyone who works harder than my mom. She is thorough, she is quick, and she is accurate. If she were a juggler, she'd be throwing balls, lighted torches, and sharp knives, all while balancing on a tightrope with her eyes closed. Yep, that's Mom. I can hear her protesting now, but it's true!
4. It's important to eat healthy foods (but homemade dessert is enjoyable, too.) Mom fixes the best meals--nutritious and delicious. And she feeds me raspberries every time I visit.
5. It's important to keep learning. Mom researches like no one else. If she has a question, she figures out the answer. She even did this back in the pre-internet era. Now it's easy: type a question, up pops an answer. If the internet suddenly didn't exist, Mom could still find answers to her questions.
6. Family matters. Not only does Mom keep track of her children and grandchildren, she pretty much knows all the leaves on the family tree. Remember the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", where the father could explain how any word has Greek origins? Well, Mom can explain how anyone is related in our family tree. He is the husband of grandma's second-cousin's daughter.
7. It is important to have fun. I learned this over and over, while losing to Mom in Scrabble. She takes top honors in sportsmanship, though, complimenting my 12-point word, while simultaneously placing all of her tiles on a triple-word square. (OK, maybe I'm exaggerating--but not by much!)
8. It's important to apologize. Especially after deciding (Why?) to hide in your daughter's open closet, and realizing after the earth-shattering scream (Funny, I've never knew I had "primal scream" inside me) that perhaps this was a bad idea. Don't worry, Mom. I've long since forgiven you. Now we can laugh about it. You always were such the practical joker. (NOT!)
9. It's important to share new ideas. Mom often calls me to tell me about a new recipe, a new cleaning tip, a new book, a new movie, etc.
10. It's important to live a life of integrity. Mom is honest, and she lives what she believes. She has never had to say, "Do what I say, not what I do." She sets a great example for me.
Happy birthday, Mom. I hope you're having a great day. I love you!
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A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, I can say mama, Steps into Parenthood, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine
Thanks for Mom.
Setting that great example is one of the hardest parts of being a Mom -- or a Grandmom.
ReplyDeleteWould love to meet your Mother: I already know that I'd like her.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
Hi, sounds wonderful. Your mother seems to be a great example and a very loving person. I too am thankful for my mom and I like that you came up with 10 reasons why. I really enjoyed the humor and love in this post.
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful tribute to your mom! Love the picture of her.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your mom! She sounds delightful! :)
ReplyDeletewhat a great description of a rather impressive person! and from your post, you have clearly taken the lessons from your mother for yourself...cool
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing, Kristi! Your mom sounds like such an amazing person! Love Scrabble, too, and drive the hubby nuts by blocking the entire board with my 3-4 letter words and winning ;-)
ReplyDeleteStephanie, I'd be annoyed with you, too. :)
DeleteYour mom sounds fabulous. Gotta say, I love that she hid in your closet to scare you. I do stuff like that to my kids all the time. :)
ReplyDeleteYour Mom sounds totally awesome.
ReplyDeleteI love that you play scrabble with her - that's something I've always enjoyed with my Mum, and I've begun to get to the stage where I can sometimes beat her! Scrabble's a big tradition in my family.
And I reckon her practical joke was most EXCELLENT and I only wish the moment had been captured on video so we could all delight in her genius.