Today is a day to bring attention to one of hardest, but most fulfilling jobs, motherhood.
To be completely honest, my mother taught me lessons in life more in what not to do by how she lived her life. She had a rough childhood, and therefore my siblings and I had rough childhood; less extreme then what she went through, but rough nonetheless. I love my mother and I have forgiven grievances of the past.
Some lessons I learned from watching the behavior of my mother:
Don’t yell. There is a difference between raising your voice, speaking sternly and yelling. To quote scripture, ” But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19)
Don’t hoard. More stuff doesn’t equate to more happiness. I grew up in a household surrounded by ‘stuff’. Ownership of more ‘stuff’ supposedly brought more happiness. It was quite evident to me at a young age that this wasn’t the case. Yes, surround yourself by those items that brings you joy, envokes good thoughts and positive memories, but don’t think that more ‘stuff’ will bring additional happiness. Live simply
Don’t play the victim. During my childhood, day to day, I’d hear the blame game, passing the baton of one’s actions onto another. You are responsible for your actions, alone. It’s about taking personal responsibility. You can’t control how others act or react, but only your own actions and reactions.
Be open and don’t judge people by their outside cover. As humans, we are all guilty of some degree of judging one another. From my mom’s openness with everyone, I’ve learned to take people where they are at in life. We are all growing, adapting, becoming the people we were meant to be. Greet everyone with a smile.
Don’t care what people think. There is no way to please everyone, so why try with anyone. Be yourself, people are going to have their own perceptions of you, let them have it. Be happy with you.
Thank you mom, for everything that you provided me. I know I am the person I am today because of every step that has led me to where I am at in life.
Love, your youngest daughter.
Heather
© Copyright 2012, Styleannedesign, All Rights Reserved