The Best Advice Our Moms Gave Us

I know that Mother’s Day is not easy for everyone. If you have lost your mom, not had a relationship with your mom, or are struggling to become a mom, it can be sad and emotional. My husband lost his mom, and I know the day is not necessarily a happy one for him. He misses his mom every day, but Mother’s Day is always a particularly tough day.

But I didn’t want it to go by without celebrating. I know I am fortunate enough to have my mom with me still, and she was there every step of the way for me. Like I have always said, I fell into the honey pot in life, and I am always aware and grateful for that.

It is funny, though, when you are younger, it takes some time to figure that out. I remember always asking my mom why she didn’t hang out all day at the country club pool with some of the other neighborhood moms in the summer. I thought these moms were particularly cool, picking at their Cobb salads, playing bridge all day while they sipped white Zinfandel and smoked Virginia Slims. I thought they were the coolest cats in town. My mom would simply say, “I have other things I want to do.” I could not understand how that was not the perfect day - and to be fair, I still pretty much think it is not a bad option.

But the truth is, my mom was a doer. She always has been. When she married my dad out of college, she was a social worker. Once I was born, she stopped working but soon after my brother and I were in school, she also decided to go back to school to become a Dietician. I can remember going to bed at night, and my mom would play the lectures she had been to that day at Ohio State on a small tape recorder.

In order for her to go back to school, she had to be extremely organized. We had a calendar on our fridge that said what we were having for dinner every night that month. It was basically like a school lunch calendar, but for us at home. Literally May 1, I could tell you what would be served for supper on May 16. She also made everything and even had a huge garden where she grew vegetables in the summer. She annually would make enough zucchini bread for a small army.

Besides keeping the trains running on time in our home, she was always involved in our church. She did everything, and she never batted an eyelash at getting it done. I was so used to her doing whatever was asked that it never occurred to me how time-consuming it all was. I remember her sleeping at the church for the homeless overflow shelter and cooking dinner, then having breakfast for folks to take, and she just made it seem like no big deal. She never seemed stressed to me, but she had to be. I mean, she might not have drank at the pool with the other moms, but we did have a box of White Zin in the fridge, so I guess sometimes she did get stressed out and need a drink. But not often.

I now know that while my mom might not have lectured me about everything she was getting done, I picked up on her “just do it” attitude through osmosis. She just never stopped, and nothing really phased her. It prepared me for being a mom and starting my own businesses.

So thank you, mom, for teaching me that sometimes you just have to “get on with it,” as she would say.

We all wanted to share some advice we got from our moms over the years and help pick out a few items that we know our moms would love to help inspire you in your mother’s day shopping.