Remembering moms–and their advice–this Mother’s Day

Today, all across this nation, children are wishing their mothers a “Happy Mother’s Day.” Commercially, this particular holiday accounts for more cards and flowers than any other holiday in the year.

Children get lots and lots of advice from their mothers. Remember this one? “If you keep this up, you’ll be crying before bedtime,” or “if you swallow that gum, your stomach will stick together, and you’ll die.” How about the time your mom caught you looking cross-eyed at a sibling: “You know if you keep doing that, your eyes will stick that way!”

We all grow up with “motherisms,” nuggets of advice, which, at the time they were offered, didn’t seem that profound or memorable. Still, as years pass–and so do some of our mothers–we find ourselves not only remembering our mothers’ advice, but using it – passing it along to our own children and giving it an even longer, lasting life.

Asked the best advice (or, at best, advice) their mothers gave them, these Maricopa moms responded:

Heidi Fawcett, Maricopa Unified School District’s new Human Resources Director, heard this from her mother: “Now, Heidi, everything happens for a reason, and you may just not know what that reason is yet.” And, from Nana, her grandmother: “This, too, shall pass!”

Kathy Debevec, MASH Anti-drug coalition secretary and Friend of the Library, recalls her mother telling her, “Don’t borrow trouble” and “Choose your battles.” Her four grown daughters, who all have children of their own, receive that same advice to this day.

Theresa Farley, Maricopa Wells Site Council President and PRL advisory committee member, and her mother had some difficult times. “I guess her best spoken advice to me was ‘stand up straight; it makes you look thinner.'”

Nancy McTighe, a Friend of the Library and MASH Coalition member, recalls that her mother was patient and willing to explain anything and everything to her children and their friends. She passed on this advice: “Don’t say anything about anyone you wouldn’t want them to say about you,” and “If you keep making that face, your face will freeze like that.”

Carolyn Struble, 85239’s Operations Manager, remembers her stressful elementary school years, dealing with kids who liked or disliked her or were just plain mean. “My mother reminded me that my friendship was a very special gift that should be given to people who deserved it. I must have listened since I’ve kept in touch with some of the great friends from those early years. Now that we’re all moms, (Carolyn’s daughter Sydney is four) I still share meaningful friendships with some truly amazing women.”

On Mother’s Day 2007 remember your mother’s advice fondly, especially if she is no longer around to share it with you. If she is, her advice today would probably be: “Call your mother!”