Not To Be Trusted With Knives

Things My Mom Taught Me

November 12, 2011 by Beth

Today is my 65th mom’s birthday and, in the nearly 35 years that she’s been my mom, I’ve learned a thing or two from her.

Save Your Money!

My mom was a banker for her entire career. And thus, my sister and I had bank accounts from an early age and we saved our money so that we could afford to get a postsecondary education someday. In order to have money to save, of course, you have to have a job, which I did from the time I got my first paper route, around age 8. All of this taught us a valuable lesson about working hard, valuing money, and delayed gratification. The latter of which, I’ve learned recently, is one of the key predictor of success in life.

Education Is Never A Waste

My mom knew that getting an education was a way that my sister and I could get to do the things we wanted to do in our lives. I’m not sure exactly how she did it, but I don’t remember a time when I didn’t just assume that I’d go on to a postsecondary education after high school. It was just a given, just like how you assumed that after grade 6 you’d go onto grade 7. And we all know that I took that lesson about education to heart!

How To Cook

Of the many things I’m arrogant about, my ability to create culinary masterpieces is at the top of the list. And I owe my love of, and ability to, cook and bake to my mother. From the time we were tiny kids, my mom taught my sister and I the skills we needed to whip up masterpieces and make it look easy. She taught us the importance of using good quality ingredients – there was no artificial vanilla extract or margarine going into her cookies, I can tell you that! She taught us when to improvise and when we needed to follow a recipe precisely. She taught us to keep an eye out for new ideas that we could recreate in our own kitchens. And she demonstrated the fun that can be had by cooking together!

Appreciation for Shoes

While we like very different kinds of shoes, I have gained my appreciation for footwear from my mom, who my dad likes to refer to as Imelda Marcos.

People Are Stupid

Whenever we complained about something someone else had done, my mother would say, “What do we say girls?” And my sister and I would say the standard reply, “People are stupid.” It seems, on the face of it, an odd thing to teach your daughters, but it meant much the same as my sister’s saying of “Good for you. You get a gold star.” The point of it is, while other people may have done something that annoyed you, you don’t have any control over their actions and it really won’t help to complain about it.

Life is Fun

Whenever my family gets together, there is always a lot of laughter. And whenever you see a photo of my mom, she always has a big smile on her face. I think I get my positivity from my mom and that’s probably the best characteristic I have!

I love you, Mommy. I’m glad I got to spend your 65th birthday with you in La Belle Province!

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