Mother. Madre. Mama Dukes. Angie (shout out to my mom) – whatever name you choose to call her, it’s time to celebrate the incredible women who raised us. Today, we salute these unsung heroes and modern day Wonder Women, because let’s be real – without them, we’d literally would not exist.
I’m lucky enough to have a mom that’s also my friend. She’s been there through think and thin – the “I’m so happy I could cry” tears, the “this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me” tears, even the “laugh so hard you’re not making any noise you’re just crying” tears. Sure we had our rocky years (Dear 16 year-old-self…you were a brat), but the truth is I never realized how right she was about so many things until now. And since I’m mature enough to finally admit that, what better time to share her words of wisdom with the world than on Mother’s Day.
If you’re too full to finish your dinner, you’re too full for dessert.
Do you know how many times I wasn’t allowed to have ice cream because I lied and said I was too full to finish the chicken and veggies on my plate? Too many. But it taught me to say what I mean and mean what I say. Choose your words carefully – you never know when they’ll come back to haunt you.
Go to your room and think about what you did.
Time out is real, my friends. I didn’t see the value of it until adulthood when I realized the importance of taking a step back to reflect. “Time out” doesn’t need to be a punishment; it just needs to be a moment to think about your actions.
Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.
Ahh procrastination. It feels so good in the moment, but comes back to bite you in the butt later. Working in public relations, I realized early on how important it is to take advantage of any “down time” aka moments when you’re not on deadline. If you can do something today, do it. No sense in waiting until tomorrow and risking an unplanned crisis taking priority over your to-do list.
You don’t always get what you want. It’s a hard lesson, but you might as well learn it now.
Truth be told I’m still learning this one, but I’m forever grateful that from an early age my mom kept my feet on the ground. The minute I acted like an entitled princess and said I wasn’t getting what I felt I deserved was the minute my mom would serve me a nice slice of humble pie. Just because you work hard for something doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. Learning to turn lemons into lemonade is a life skill that everyone can benefit from.
