As we approach Mother’s Day May 14, let us take the time to think about the words of wisdom given to us by the first most important woman in our lives.

I asked my two sons to share what words of wisdom I passed on to them. That was a mistake.

My oldest said, “I need time to think about that.”

My youngest said, “You told me I’d get less wet if I walked slower in the rain because I would dodge the raindrops.”

Really?

Next stop was social media, asking friends, family and readers to share wisdom they learned from their moms.

“You can do anything you want to do, if you put your mind to it.”

“Do something with that hair!”

“Remember your manners!”

“Never call someone back on the phone in anger.”

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

“Eat your vegetables; they are good for you.”

“If you are too full to eat your dinner, you are too full for dessert.”

“Always wear clean underwear in case you get into an accident.”

“This too shall pass.”

“You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Whenever I felt that I was treated unjustly or unfairly, or that someone was acting on incorrect information, my mother had a quote: ‘The one above knows the truth.’ That always brought me comfort and still does to this day. So many times we see injustice in our world - the big one as well as our own - and her ‘momily,’ as I called it, helped build my own resilience.”

And a famous quote delivered by Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump,” “Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.”

Personally, my mother taught me the importance of writing thank-you notes for gifts received, even if I said “thank you” to the person when I opened the gift. I still write thank-you notes. And I often am bothered when I don’t receive a note or a call because I don’t know if the gift was received or liked.

My mother also shared the importance of going to church every Sunday and getting involved in the choir and youth group - a lesson I carried through with my boys.

I was always encouraged to be independent because I needed to know how to take care of myself and not depend on anyone.

Both my mother and father rarely took a sick day from work. They instilled in my sister and me the importance of being dependable. I had to be really sick if I was allowed to stay home from school, and that almost always involved a house call from the doctor.

Both my sister and I began working when we were 15 and 16 at a local garden store. My mother let us keep half of our paychecks, and the other half went into a savings account. When I began working and was still living at home, my mother charged me a small amount of rent, which I paid each month. She saved all the money and used it to pay for my wedding dress.

I learned the importance of saving money from my mother.

I also learned old wives’ tales from my mother and grandmother, which I continue with to this day.

I must walk out the same door I walked in, which really frustrates my family. I will not walk under a ladder.

One time, my father went to the plant store and bought some houseplants - one of which was ivy. My mother said the ivy had to leave the house - it is bad luck. Someone sent my grandmother a planter of ivy, and she was very upset. Shortly thereafter, her mother died. I’ve never had ivy in my house.

There are so many other words of wisdom I’ve learned from my mom, who fortunately is still with us at the age of 86. She is my sounding board and is always there when I need to talk.

Writer Erma Bombeck wrote the following: “When God Created Mothers.”

“When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of ‘overtime’ when the angel appeared and said, ‘You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.’

“And God said, ‘Have you read the specs on this order?’ She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 movable parts ... all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands.’

“The angel shook her head slowly and said, ‘Six pairs of hands ... no way.’

“‘It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,’ God remarked, ‘it’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.’

“‘That’s on the standard model?’ asked the angel. God nodded.

“‘One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ‘What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, ‘I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.’

“‘God,’ said the angel touching his sleeve gently, ‘Get some rest tomorrow ...’

“‘I can’t,’ said God, ‘I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick ... can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger ... and can get a 9 year old to stand under a shower.’

“The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. ‘It’s too soft,’ she sighed.

“‘But tough!’ said God excitedly. ‘You can imagine what this mother can do or endure.’

“‘Can it think?’

“‘Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,’ said the Creator.

“Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

“‘There’s a leak,’ she pronounced. ‘I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model.’

“‘It’s not a leak,’ said the Lord, ‘It’s a tear.’

“‘What’s it for?’

“‘It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride.’

“‘You are a genius,’ said the angel.

“Somberly, God said, ‘I didn’t put it there.’”

So thank you to all of the mothers - here and in heaven - for your words of wisdom and the many lessons learned. Our lives are richer because of you.

Debbie Galbraith

editor

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press