Just woke up on a Sunday Mother's Day morning and needing something to read, I coincidentally retrieved an edition of the Reader's Digest from May 2014.
Flipping through, I stopped at page 130. The headline - "Like my mother always said" caught my eye.
They were some of the best quotes taken from a book written by Erin McHugh. I thought this would be apt on Mother's Day and be a source of inspiration and joy to all mothers, and children.
Here are some of the standout quotes:
1. "Ask your father." Pat, mother of Marie Claire
2. "I don't care who started it. I'm finishing it now!" Helen, mother of John
3. "Always be happy for another person. Their success doesn't take anything away from you." Ellie, mother of Wendy
4. "Don't be impressed by a man's car - he may be living in it!" Carolyn, mother of Melody
5. "You're not hungry. Your mouth is bored." Joalice, mother of Sharon
6. "There's always going to be someone smarter than you, richer than you, and better looking than you. So don't get too full of yourself." Marilyn, mother of James
7. "If you're good, I'll leave you my jewellery.' This was compelling, as I have four sisters." Julie, daughter of Eileen
8. "When we were little kids, my sister continually tormented our younger brother. Our mother would say, 'Be nice. He'll always be younger than you, but he won't always be smaller.'" Ellen, daughter of Dorice
9. "Having a toddler is like having a permanently drunk houseguest." Emily, grandmother of Megan
10. "Whenever you pass a bathroom, go. You can always do a little something." Alma, mother of Richard
After enjoying that, I found another good story on page 108. A short story written by Charles M. Blow for the New York Times titled, "BIG SHOES TO FILL", the single parent's mother's lessons on love that helped him raise his children, and taught him how to let them go.
"She taught me that parenting was a lot like giving a hug: it's all about love and pressure, and there is no one way to do it."
"She taught me that sometimes you have to make time for yourself so that you will have energy to give to your children. Allow them to have a pizza every so often. An occasional treat won't hurt them, but working yourself to a frazzle will surely hurt you. Rest."
"She taught me that you must allow yourself time to find stillness so you can be moved by it. Sometimes we are so busy that we forget why we're busy. We have so many things on our to-do-list that we lose sight of what's really important."
"And she taught me that my children don't truly belong to me; they've simply been entrusted to me. They are a gift life gave me but one that I must one day give back to life. They grow up and go away, and that is as it should be."
In the last paragraph, Charles wrote, "Letting go is hard for me to do. I must let go but my heart feels hollow. I can't imagine me without them."
As a parent of a daughter that turned 21 recently, I certainly learnt a lot of things today. I am still learning, we never do.
And, I also learnt a lot of things from my mother and father who were busy working hard just to put food on the table.
Thank you mom for the lessons.
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