For Mom

Mom, this post is for you! In 60 days you are turning 60. I thought it would be fun to post 60 lessons today that you have taught me over the years. There are so many more than that .... and so many more ways you were a good mom. But here's the first 60 that came to mind. 

60 Lessons You Taught Me - Part I

1. Never underestimate the power of a genuine hand-written letter or thank you note. From the time I could write, I remember you sitting me down and writing thank you notes. I'm a letter writer from way back because of you and still am today. 
2. You can never have too much food out for a party. People tease us, but they always eat and are happy and full when they leave. The key is not to waste the leftovers.  
3. You taught me independence at an early age - washing clothes, making my bed, cleaning my room, etc. You taught me to be responsible for my things ... whether at home or school. You didn't follow behind bringing up homework or projects to school. You didn't wait on me hand and foot. You taught me to take care of my responsibilities. Something I am so grateful for (and so are my employers I'm sure). 
4. Pretty is as pretty does. You taught me that I could be as pretty as I wanted on the outside, but if I was vain or mean or ugly on the inside, it didn't matter. When someone complimented me as a child, you often reinforced this with the quick comeback "She's just as pretty on the inside." A VERY comforting lesson as the aging process takes over. :)      
5. It's okay to stop and take a break from things and watch a marathon television series. We all need a break from the day and to day and what's better than five seasons of Alias, for example. There is still nothing I love more than taking a cold weekend and hanging out in bed watching show after show - rejuvenating for the week ahead.     
6. When in doubt, add a little Herbes de Provence. Hey, it's many herbs in one bottle. It's a money saving tip too!  
7. Concern your life with more than money. Money and material possessions are not what life is about. Use what you have where you can.
8. Get up and put your makeup on & You can always use a little lipstick. I had someone the other day at church say, "you always have your full makeup on every time I see you."  Maybe it's not a rare thing in Texas, but up here, I think it is. "My mom taught me that" I said.
9. Finish well.   
10. Manners. I suppose this is a lesson taught before the age of 5, but you'd be surprised how many mothers didn't teach it.  The lack of excuse me, please & thank you and table manners these days amazes me. 
11. Good coffee doesn't need sugar or cream.  Good coffee stands on it's own. I agree.
12. Prayer changes things. Pray with expectation.  It's not a calming exercise. It's not meditation. It's a conversation.  This is something I learned from watching your example. So many times I heard you say "I'd prayed for this" or "I'll be praying for that".  So many times I watched God change emotions, attitudes and circumstances. Something I believe you learned at an early age from your grandmother and the truth of it has carried over the generations. 
13. Put your big girl pants on. I'm still learning this one. You can feel however you feel, but you still gotta get up and do what you have to do.  Make the right choices. Move forward. I see you do this time and time again.
14. Appreciate teachers.
15. When you mess up, ask for forgiveness. You say you are sorry. I remember this from a very early age. You would set the example by apologizing for maybe a punishment done in anger or a "no" to an answer that you later changed to "yes" or vice versa. I always knew you loved me and that you were doing your very best to raise me because of this. And you required the same from me. You would wait until my apology was a sincere one. You never accepted one where you felt like I was "going through the motions" to get it over with. Things like that stick with a kid.     
16. There's no shame in resale.  
17. You can do it. Funny, I always think that you think I can do it.  Even if you don't, you rarely discourage me.  New job?  Go for it! Want to move?  Okay, we'll help.  Learn that skill?  I bet you can.  You are such a cheerleader and an encourager that sometimes it never occurs to me that I can't do it or I won't do it. That's so great for someone like me. If you discouraged me, I know I would be easily swayed away from new things, but you don't. You've taught me that I can do it.     
18. "Oh, you're going to church."  For the most part I would always go and be fine with it. But there were times I didn't want to go, or tried to see if I could get out of it. It's kinda of like the make up lesson. You get up and go and you'll be glad you did once you get there .... whether you wanted to go originally or not.
19. Pets are not people. Know the difference.
20. Parenting matters and good stay at-home-moms work every bit as hard as mothers who work outside the home.
21. There's not much you can't talk about on a long car ride.  I think you taught me to love car rides.  I still do to this day.  Maybe it's just in our DNA. I know Grandmommy is a car rider too. But I love to ride and explore and talk and listen to tapes or the radio. 
22. Speaking of driving, I guess I can tack on this lesson to: "If you can drive in Dallas, you can drive anywhere." It's really true. If you can maneuver around the metroplex then most other places are a piece of cake and other big cities are manageable.   
23. It's okay to go to the movies by yourself. And the early morning Saturday movie is the BEST!
24. The only difference between us and the animals is our ability to accessorize. Everyone looks good with a new purse. Put a pin on it. Scarf? Yes please. 
25. Never take a meal to someone else and leave your family hungry. Serve others? Definitely.  But not at the complete expense of your own family. 
26. Look for the outcast. Don't bully. Don't push people out. This is a lesson that is beyond valuable as a kid/teenager when everything is about groups and cliques and finding your place to fit in. I remember you teaching me to "stand up to the mean girls" and friend the ones they would pick on. It's a lesson so many parents don't seem to be teaching these days. As I get older, it's less about that and more about looking for the opportunity to include.    
27. It's important to create memories and traditions. There are so many holiday traditions that I love. Things that you did and continue to do. For all the craziness of the holidays, it's still so fun to think back on them and to pass them on to another generation of little ones. You were so good at creating memories for the once in a lifetime events and making the more common things more fun than they would have been. I could probably do a list of 60 things just on this topic alone.
28. Pack a snack.       
29. It takes a village. I don't know if you started saying this after or before Clinton's book, but I know the philosophy was there long before. It takes more than immediate family to raise a child. There's room for what others bring to the table. The more people who pull up a chair and sit down, the better.  
30. If you feel like you are going to go there, get to doing something for someone else. I know this to be true, but I still have to work on it from time to time. When you are getting down in the dumps, focusing on yourself only digs the hole deeper. When you get to thinking about others, it lifts you out. Everybody gets down. It's okay. Just get back to moving as fast as you can.