Day 127: I’m just gonna go right ahead and blurt this week’s theme, because, for once, I’ve planned ahead. Mom would be proud. She would also cringe, because the theme is MOMS, and my mother hated the attention of Mothers Day. More about that this week . . .
Today, I’m thinking about the advice we get from MOMS. My mother knew things. She was a veritable vault of information. The reason I know this is because she answered all my questions and offered bits of wisdom that she probably didn’t realize were wise at all.
This was typical of her: “You have to look both ways. People drive like racecar drivers on country roads. They think the lack of traffic means there won’t be any roadblocks, but that’s not true. Cows. There are cows. Hay. There are bales of errant hay that have slipped off the load without notice. Slow farmers. There are slow farmers who check their crop as they drive past. You have to drive every car on the road-not just your own. Look both ways and don’t drive like a racecar driver. Slow down and watch for cows. I promise you, you do not want to hit a cow.” She was also famous for her warnings about canals, walking behind horses, and the need to always listen before you dial. For you who have not experienced life with a party-line telephone, that last gem is also a theme for another day.
You’re most likely wondering why I’m going on and on about her for an entire year when she hated the attention of one Sunday every May.
Easy answer: She’s not here to stop me.
Harder answer: By handing down my mom’s insights, I’m handing down pieces of her, and her mother before her, and her mother before her. By handing down the things I learned, I am handing down what shaped me and who I became because of it. I’m handing down pieces of me. And maybe, someday, that quirky thing my son or daughter says to their son or daughter will make some sense when they consider where all that quirky advice began. #MomsCompanyTowels #MomKnowledge #MothersDay #SlowDownThereCouldBeCows #MomsRulesOfTheRoad
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