Everything I Need to Know I Learned From My Mom

This one goes out to my mom, who in my

mind, reached mom of the year status!

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As mother's day approaches, I feel it only fitting that I blog about my own mom.  After all, everything I needed to know in life, I learned from my mother.  Here's just a few of them.  I love you mom!

1.  Always look your best.  Throughout my life, I can't ever remember my mother looking less than her best.  Whether going to a golf outing, volunteering, or baking a cake in our kitchen, she always looked good.  Honestly, I'll never understand it myself, but even if she was a wreck on the inside, you never saw it on the outside. 

2.  When the going gets tough, the tough threaten with "wait 'til your father gets home."  Oh man, as kids we knew we were in for it when these words came from our mother's mouth.  I remember all those years listening to the police scanner right before dinner and listening for dad to call out he was going 10-7 (wait, is that right?), meaning he was coming home.  But there were days we would have rather eaten the dog food than tell dad what we did wrong.  And our dog ate Gaines Burgers when we were kids.  If you don't know what those are, I suggest you hop on Wikipedia.  Yuck! 

3.  Bake.  I remember my mother baking lots when we were growing up.  I even remember the bakery she ran out of our home which has single handedly led to my fascination with the cake batter ice cream at Cold Stone.  I remember requesting what we wanted on our birthday cakes and she would make exactly what we wanted for us.  Whether or not she liked it, she did it for us. Even when my brother, Rob, told her the bushes on my house cake for my 8th birthday looked like dog poop. 

4.  Rubbing your feet together makes all your problems go away.  My mother (and I remember her mother doing it too) rubs her feet together when she sits.  Always has!  To this day, when I'm stressed, I find myself rubbing my feet together to help me relax. 

5.  When Santa brings a science set, make sure the kids use it in a well ventilated area.  I'll always remember the year Rob got this for Christmas and mom made him use it in the basement.  Knowing the things he created in that basement, I think my mom was onto something. 

6.  Be prepared.  This one, I haven't quite mastered yet.  I'm not sure how I'll ever know how my mother got everything you may need in her purse.  She always had gum - always had a button and thread - always had a tissue - was never without a bandaid.  At this very moment I doubt you could even find spare change in my purse.  Perhaps this trait was passed more to my sister, Lori.  Hmmm....

7.  Moms are the glue.  My mom was often the glue that held everything together.  I'm reminded of this when Aaron and Maddie are fighting over who gets the last word and Malea is having an all-out fit. 

8.  Work hard.  Yep, my parents taught us to work hard.  They instilled quite a work ethic in each of us.  However, there are times we curse this trait they passed along.   

9.   Don't be wasteful.  My mother is possibly the only person I know who can reuse just about anything you can find.  We once caught her taking cut up scraps of paper out of the garbage can when we were stamping.  Actually, that was only a couple of years ago.  She can make marvelous things from these scraps.  She's also been known to reuse foil and plastic baggies.  She's a resourceful one.  I will admit, I keep my scraps now when I get crafty (just not the teensie-tiny ones my mother will spend countless minutes digging from the garbage). 

10.  Hug.  I don't ever remember a time when mom didn't hug.  I'm pretty sure she thought it was the cure-all for any boo-boo, hurt feeling, or broken heart.  Those who know me best know that deep down, I'm really a hugger. 

While my vocalness comes from my father, I know my creative and caring sides come from my mom.  So does this pointy chin and high cheekbones.  I love everything about her and often wondered how she came home from working a full day, put dinner on the table, and I'm not sure I ever remember her looking tired.  She's an amazing woman and I'm proud to call her my mom.  Plus, she is living proof that the pursuit for mom of the year is attainable.  After all, she mastered it. 

Happy Mother's Day, mom!