Mom's Words to Live By

I have the best mom in the world.  She set a great example of what a mother should be, and she always had the right words to say in every drama-filled moment of my life. 

The phrases she used were those ones that you just never forget, and her words of wisdom still ring in my head today.  I’ve passed on those little “gems of life to live by” to my own daughter, and I’ve added a few of my own. 

In honor of Mother’s Day weekend, I thought I’d share some of them. 

There's those that withstand the test of time like….

• Watch both ways before crossing the street
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
• The grass is always greener on the other side
• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
• Do your best!  That’s all anyone can ask
• Be nice
• Money can’t buy you happiness
• A penny saved is a penny earned

There's those few that are just plain common courtesy…

• Use your indoor voice when inside
• Take your shoes off at the door
• "What do  you say"  (answer = please, thank you) 

There’s some I take exception with like…

• Don’t put off for tomorrow, what you can do today (I mean, enough already, I go hard every day.  Can’t something wait till tomorrow?)
• Cleanliness is the next to Godliness (I could be wrong, but I don’t think there’s any reference to dust in the Bible)
• If you sit too close to the TV, you’ll hurt your eyes (I’m pretty sure that research has proven that I didn’t become near-sighted because I watched Scooby Doo at arm’s length)
• Carrots are good for your eyes (That one never worked when she tried to get me to eat more vegetables)

There’s the one that always makes me laugh when I hear myself repeating it:

• Shut the door!  Were you born in a barn?  (turning off lights when you leave a room applies to this one also)

Then there’s some of my absolute favorites that mom always said and still says today like….

• You can’t put a price tag on your health
• Be careful for what you ask for (boy, isn’t that the truth?)
• You learn something new every day
• Take your vitamins

 Perhaps the two that really made an impact in my life are….

• Can’t never did anything (Apparently I said “I can’t” a lot as a child because this one is burned into my very being.  Just tell me I can’t do something or even suggest it, and I’ll prove you wrong.)
• Life’s not fair (Something that I still struggle with today because I just feel life should be fair.)

I’d also like to add a few of my own gems…

• It’s not always what you know, but who you know
• Dusting is a waste of time J
• Think twice about what you do and say because Karma “will” right the world

My daughter would laugh reading this because I’m sure I’ve said a lot, if not all, of these at one time or another.  But they really are important words to live by, and I thank you mom for keeping me pointed in the right direction with these words.