Like My Mother Always Said

http:// http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18405527-like-my-mother-always-said

I received this book from a colleague at work who was retiring and wanted to get me a gift as a thank you for supporting her during our years working together. We had spent much time laughing and reminiscing about things we carried with us from our Mothers. Sayings, advice, health warnings, and sundry other “Mom-isms” that get passed down.

This is a nice little coffee table book and it rather surprised me how unoriginal many of our mothers were, as there are many entries I heard from my own Mom, who I thought was always the originator of said advice.

My Mom has been gone for almost ten years, so now that the grief wound has mostly scabbed over, I sometimes find myself thinking of her analytically, rather than emotionally. Trying to figure out who she was and what made her tick. Doing the math in my head to try and compare myself at forty to her at forty or whatever age I am remembering at any given time.

Just for fun, I decided to go back and research some of her advice to see if she knew what she was talking about or was simply regurgitating things her own Mother told her.

1. Sitting on cold surfaces causes hemorrhoids. No. Mom was wrong.
2. Eating raw potato or cookie dough causes worms. No. Wrong again.
3. Going out in the cold with wet hair will cause a cold. Wrong.
4. Your face will freeze that way. Undecided. I’ll give her this one.
5. Pretty is as pretty does. Mom was right. 
6. Only the good die young. She was right. < Trigger warning. 
7. I will always be with you. Forever. Mom for the win.

So, whether you choose to believe every word your Mother told you, or you choose to Google her wrong on every utterance, you cant ever escape the fact that she is your first teacher, and whose words you will be quoting for the rest of your life, right or wrong.

I choose to laugh now when my sons say ” MOM, you sound just like Nan!!’

And while I still haven’t quite figured her out and likely never will, she was my constant, my rock, and Mom-isms like the ones I posted aside, more right than she was wrong in her life advice.

Do unto others never goes out of date. Eat well and get enough rest is another one that we will appreciate more as we age.

“You will miss me when I’m gone…..”

Yes, Mom. In ways I never imagined.