A positive attitude, experience and wisdom
Sometimes they're harsh and eye-opening, other times they're subtle yet profound. Life's lessons can define you, but there's nothing like a mother's instruction to shield you from harm and leave you with the kind of guidance you didn't even know you needed. We asked you to tell us about the best lesson you learned from dear old Mom -- the kind of tried and true wisdom you'd like to impart on your own kids. Here's a selection of your stories:Sue Pieper's Lesson: The power of positivity
My mother taught me -- through example as well as through words -- that there's always something positive you can do, no matter what the circumstance. She taught me how to recognize and use all kinds of resources to solve all kinds of problems and, even more fundamentally, that I have the right to change my situation. So when I don't like some part of my life, I never think I'm stuck.
Sometimes I have to work hard to find the way forward but I always assume there is one and eventually, I find it. My mother has no patience for "poor me" or victim attitudes, though she is compassionate toward people who are truly suffering. Her "chin up," problem-solving stance, as I've learned it, has been especially valuable to me since September 19, 2002 when my husband Omar, 48, died suddenly while watching TV with our (then) 12-year-old daughter. Though there's nothing I can do to bring him back, I still have control over how I approach life. The best way I can honour his memory is by living well, and I have my mom to thank for giving me a good strategy for doing so.
Lynne Carol Martin
June White's Lesson: Experience = knowledge
When I was a teenager, the usual line from my mother when I was about to get into trouble was, "You'll know one day, when you have kids of your own!" My standard answer was, "I'm never having any kids!" Little did I know that all these years later, I would be the mom to three girls (one is four years old and the twins are 17 months old).
Yes Mom, now I understand.
Janine Seenandan
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My mother taught me -- through example as well as through words -- that there's always something positive you can do, no matter what the circumstance. She taught me how to recognize and use all kinds of resources to solve all kinds of problems and, even more fundamentally, that I have the right to change my situation. So when I don't like some part of my life, I never think I'm stuck.
Sometimes I have to work hard to find the way forward but I always assume there is one and eventually, I find it. My mother has no patience for "poor me" or victim attitudes, though she is compassionate toward people who are truly suffering. Her "chin up," problem-solving stance, as I've learned it, has been especially valuable to me since September 19, 2002 when my husband Omar, 48, died suddenly while watching TV with our (then) 12-year-old daughter. Though there's nothing I can do to bring him back, I still have control over how I approach life. The best way I can honour his memory is by living well, and I have my mom to thank for giving me a good strategy for doing so.
Lynne Carol Martin
June White's Lesson: Experience = knowledge
When I was a teenager, the usual line from my mother when I was about to get into trouble was, "You'll know one day, when you have kids of your own!" My standard answer was, "I'm never having any kids!" Little did I know that all these years later, I would be the mom to three girls (one is four years old and the twins are 17 months old).
Yes Mom, now I understand.
Janine Seenandan
Page 1 of 2
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