Things I Learned From My Mom

 My great grandmother, mom, me, and grandmother.

Last Father's Day, I wrote about Things I Learned From My Dad. This year, with Mother's Day on the horizon, it seemed only right to honor my mother in a similar way. I love and cherish my mother in so many ways. As I grow into my own sense of womanhood and motherhood, I continue to become all the more grateful for the ways that my mom has formed me. More and more, I hear comments about how much I am like my mother in looks and character. Since she is a pretty incredible woman, I'll gladly embrace any qualities we might share. Here are some lessons I have learned from my mother: 

• Always write thank you notes.

• Sometimes there are more important things than cleaning the house.

• Read to your kids.  

• Don't complain. I'm sure my mom has complained at some point; I've just never heard it.

• If you're not going to eat your lima beans, at least hide them under your napkin. 

• How to sew. 

• Extend compassion and forgiveness generously.  

• Handmade is almost always better. 

• Family is important. Spend time with them, even if it's across an ocean via a weekend phone call.
  

• How to bake almond cookies and make fried rice.

• Welcome everyone into your home.

• Pursue a vocation that intersects what you love doing and what will help others.

• How to do laundry and properly iron men's dress shirts. 

• Lots of fun can be had with a cardboard box and imagination.

• You are never finished growing and learning. 

• Pray for your children. A lot. Especially during the adolescent years. 

• Women can have significant influence in whatever they do. My mom has been a teacher, church deacon, stay-at-home-mom, and now, an advisor to the Governor of Hawaii. In all her roles and relationships, she works hard and cares about people.
  

Thank you, Mom, for all the sacrifice, unconditional love, and grace you have poured out into your family. Happy Mother's Day!