Things My Mother Taught Me...

Nothing causes a person to look inward like having a child. The intense feelings of love and protectiveness are at times so overwhelming, that I look at my daughter with eyes the color of the sky and think to myself, "I had better not mess this up." I recall with clarity and tenderness all the things my mother has taught me by word and deed:

1. Never miss a day of reading the scriptures - even if it's just one verse. You'll be blessed for your diligence with power and strength.
2. Most of the things you worry about never even happen.
3. Never let your children talk back to you or treat you with disrespect. Do not allow it - for you are not only defending yourself...you're defending motherhood.
4. Do it ahead. Don't wait until five o clock to scratch your head at what to make for dinner. Make preparations earlier in the day. This goes for dinner parties as well. Start days in advance, so the stress doesn't overwhelm you. Then the last usually harried minutes before the guests arrive can be spent primping in front of the mirror!
5. Where your children are concerned - never pass up a teaching moment.
6. Don't borrow trouble.
7. Kill people with kindness.
8. Don't hesitate to run from your seat at the dinner table to sit on your husband's lap and kiss him! Your children should see their parents be affectionate with each other.
9. Never speak ill of your loved ones (I love this advice, Mom. To this day, I have never said one negative thing about Jerald or Summer).
10. Keep a clean, serene, and beautiful home.
11. Teach your children to pray as early as when they are babies.
12. If you feel yourself becoming upset, overwhelmed, and under pressure, take a walk around the block, escape to the bedroom, the bathroom, or wherever, and pray.
13. Never let your children quarrel with one another. You'll lose the spirit in your home.
14. Satan may have the power to bruise your heel, but you have the power to crush his head.
15. At the end of the day, when tucking your children in bed, ask them their "happys and sads" of the day. It's a great way to feel close and get them to open up.
16. When cooking, clean as you go! You won't be left with a huge mess of a kitchen in the end.
17. Make sure food looks "pretty on the plate". Don't have yellow enchiladas, yellow corn, yellow rice, etc. Add splashes of color to the plate.
18. Think of your meal's presentation. Add pretty garnishes to the food, such as parsley on the noodles and rice, paprika on the mashed potatoes, etc. Food should always look appealing and appetizing to get the taste buds going before the meal even begins.
19. Set a pretty table.
20. In the company of others, never point out your own faults. People will then begin to notice them!
21.When giving a speech, lesson, or talk, never proclaim your nervousness or your lack of preparation. You don't want your audience to pity you.
22. Remember the "as if principle". Act as if you are self-confident, and you'll project it to those around you, and your own feelings of self-assuredness will inevitably follow.
23. Replace a negative thought with a positive one.
24. Never miss a day telling your loved ones you love them.
25. Cooking meals for your family is a wonderful way to show love.
26. Have dinner together as a family every night and talk about everyone's day.
27. Practice your instrument every day. Heavenly Father gives talents to bless the lives of others. He also takes these talents away if they are not tuned and schooled.
28. Enthusiasm is a spiritual gift. Radiate it to those around you.
29. Be grateful for the priesthood and use it often. Never hesitate to ask for priesthood blessings from the priesthood bearers in your life.
30. Bloom where you're planted.
31. Freshly baked cookies and brownies are the best way to excite your children when they come home from school.
32. In the morning, get up, get dressed, fix your hair, and put on makeup. Even if you don't see a solitary soul that day, you'll feel better about yourself.
33. Make sure your shoes match your purse.
34. Take good care of your skin.
35. Get outside and walk every day - even if it's raining or snowing. It's great exercise and it provides a wonderful opportunity to pray.
36. Read a great variety of books to enlarge your mind.
37. Be up on current events.
38. Develop wonderful traditions as a family. Always involve good food!
39. Don't let others take advantage of you.
40. If frightened in the middle of the night, don't hesitate to ask Heavenly Father for angels to stand guard.
41. Only give advice when it's asked for - and even then, only carefully.
42. Don't stress too much with company coming. Hey, they are lucky they are getting a free
meal!
43. Don't put things off. Work first, play later.
44. Don't fight. The things said in anger can never be taken back. You can ask that person for forgiveness, but your hurtful words will be forever etched in their heart.
45. When meeting people, look them right in the eye and firmly shake their hand.
46. When someone is giving a speech, a lesson, or a talk, then you in the audience should keep your eyes focused on them and listen attentively. The speaker deserves that respect.
47. Think only positive thoughts about yourself.
48. Put a high price on yourself.
49. Be sensitive. Before you say anything, think how it will make that person feel.
50. Take every opportunity to compliment others, but make the praise genuine.
51. When others compliment you, say thank you and and praise them back.
52. Listen to others. Draw them out. Don't just talk about yourself.
53. At social gatherings, take it upon yourself to keep the conversation going. Don't let awkward silences fall. Keep everyone talking and having a good time.
54. At parties, don't just sit and talk with one person all evening. Circulate and help everyone feel comfortable.
55. Write in your journal often. When you know you're going to write down the day's activities, you'll make them better.
56. If you have an agenda or a self-serving reason for saying or doing something, it backfires.
57. Never try to manipulate people by making them feel guilty.
58. In conversations, when a person tells you something they have accomplished, resist the temptation to counter with your own successes.
59. If you didn't say everything you meant to say in your talk or speech, who cares? They didn't know what you were going to say anyway!
60. When you're having a conversation and your words come out jumbled or are too long and involved, don't try to fix it. Just laugh and hope they do too!
61. Don't take yourself too seriously. No one else does!
62. Remember - your child lives with YOU. You don't live with your child. As the parent, you are in charge.
63. Happiness is an inside job.
64. When your husband comes home, always greet him with a hug and kiss at the door.
65. Pray always. Lean on the Lord. Petition Him for help with all of your concerns. What's important to you is important to Him.

Thank you, Mother, for the wonderful mother you are and have always been. If I could be half the mother you are, I would be thrilled beyond words. I will try to teach Summer and my other future children these important principles you have so humbly taught by word and example. You are loved and adored by everyone who knows you. I dedicate this to you. I love you.