My Mom's Wisdom

I hear a version of this at least once a month from my mom-- "I hope you're writing down all of this great wisdom I've been giving you over the years somewhere." I'm ashamed to say, I haven't been great at writing it down, so I'm going to put as much here as I can remember, for now.

I love my mom so much. She's great for so many different reasons. She's been with me through my best and worst times. Here are some of my favorite pieces of wisdom I've learned from my mom...

1. Always have a book with you. Whether you're at the doctor's office, on a car ride, at a friend's house, etc. Always have a book with you, and you'll never be bored.

2. Read. Read. Read. My mom (and dad, for that matter) always have piles of books on their nightstands that they are currently working through. They are some of the most well-informed people I know, because they have a love of learning and reading.

3. Work. There is no excuse for wasting an entire day not bettering yourself. While I can think of days, and days, and days I have wasted doing next to nothing, I can, honestly, not think of a single day for as long as I have known my mom where she has "wasted" it in front of a tv or computer all day.

4. Compassion. I can think of a specific story to represent this: While on my senior trip to NYC with my mom and several classmates we passed by a homeless man sleeping on a bench. One of my friend's joked about how misfitting and tattered the homeless man's shoes were (earlier this same friend had made fun of and snickered at a homeless man singing on the subway). My mom's response? "Every time I see someone suffering I can't help but think of how he was once a perfect, sweet baby in his mother's arms with his whole life ahead of him. That man has a mom somewhere. That man is loved." 

5. Pick your fights. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have heard my mom yell. She's not confrontational. She much prefers peace. Whenever we kids have cornered her about a situation where she didn't "stand up for herself" she replies that the argument wasn't as important as the relationship, and that the situation wasn't critical enough to demand a certain outcome.

6. Find someone who makes you laugh every single day. My dad makes my mom laugh every day and that alone has gotten them through some very hard times.

7. Who said marriage was supposed to be easy? Sometimes my parents drive each other crazy, but I've heard my mom say on several occasions how she can't even imagine an eternity without my dad.

8. My mom is very conscientious of others. "Whenever I say something in a group I try to keep in mind that someone here is a lesbian, and someone here has a child with a drug problem, and someone here's daughter is pregnant, and someone here is going through a painful divorce, and someone here is struggling with infertility. Everyone is suffering and I try to make sure I keep my mind open to that." She's aware of the single woman in church on Mother's Day. She's aware of the silently gay student trying to fit in. She's aware of the countless imperfect people who are just trying to do their best. She's aware of how insensitivity hurts. My mom has become a voice for the suffering. In social settings when a certain group is being attacked, she tries to steer the conversation back to love, acceptance, and Jesus Christ. I love that about her.

9. You can always come home. One of the only things that got me through the beginnings of my unplanned pregnancy a couple of years ago was knowing that my parents loved me. They didn't reject me, they didn't judge me, and they didn't feel ashamed of me. They just loved me and helped me figure out what to do. Growing up, they always made it very clear that no matter what I did/happened to me they would unconditionally love and help me.

10.  "Everyone has lessons to learn. This is just the way you've chosen to learn them, and that's okay. Everyone learns differently"  My mom wasn't given easy kids. We have each broken her heart and let her down on several occasions, but she has made sure that we never question her love for us. As she says it, "I love you exactly as you are, right here, right now."

I know if I sat down with each of my siblings they'd be able to list off a dozen more pieces of advice my mom has given us throughout the years. I hope that I can be as good of a mom to my kids as my mom has been to me.

On another note, here are a bunch of cute pictures of Walter! I'm completely in love with this little guy. You'll noticed he's developed a new..."smile" that he uses when I have a camera on him...

On a Sunday a couple of weeks ago, Walter and Esther were dressed alike. When their backs were turned to us, Elisabeth and I would mistake them for each other!

 Walter takes things on his head very seriously

 Little guy bent down and gave himself a good knock on the head. Thankfully my dad knew what to do so that we didn't need to take him to the ER for stitches.

 Levi is a 5-year-old

We love cousin time!