“Be careful.” These are the words I’ve heard every time my
mother and I have separated every since I can remember. It’s good advice.
Short. To the point. Broad and easy to remember. And it works for everything. Driving a car, dating, swimming, having children, taking a bath.
Recently, I took a shopping trip with my mom, my daughter,
and my daughter’s friend. My mom and I were talking about the trip I’m planning to take
with my daughter’s choir in the spring to New York City. She wisely advised me
to take plenty of underwear because at that time of year, you never know when a
nor-easter blizzard will pop up and you will be stuck. Also, you can wear your
clothes more than once but you want to change your underwear.
Don’t get me wrong, this is very, very good advice. However,
since I’m knocking on the door of that last birthday before forty, I thought it
was kind of funny.
My mom has had great advice for me on many occasions. My all
time favorite has to be her advice to make sure my skirt was not stuck in my
underwear (or something like that) when I was on my way to accept a financial
scholarship for college during the end of my senior year of high school. To
others, it may seem like odd advice, but to me who had actually had my skirt
stuck in my underwear after using the restroom on a homecoming date and was
lucky enough to have my mother see this and rescue me, there could not have
been better words for the occasion.
So now I am the mother of a fourteen and a half year old
daughter who responds with a dramatic eye roll just about every time I pass on
my sage, motherly words of advice. I don’t recall if I rolled my eyes at my mom
when I was a teenager – I’m sure I did, though, even if I wasn’t bold enough to
do it “out loud” and just in my head. Anyway, I think my daughter would be well
advised to not bother with the eye roll because when she’s knocking on forty, I’m
sure I’ll still be passing my words on to her.
Thanks, mom, for all of the great words of advice.
-The Wordsy Woman
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