I’ve been thinking a lot about mothers.

Specifically the wisdom of mothers, that is passed down to their children. How often do we hear people say “my mama always said…” and then share some quotation from their mother?

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ma said “Draw the broom; don’t push it,” and “No use crying over spilled milk.”

Caddie Woodlawn’s mother said “Don’t Ma me!” and “bad behavior in children is caused by their not having enough chores.”

My mom said “Whatsoever things are lovely… honest, of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise; think on these these things. “

She said “you won’t melt!” when we didn’t want to do our chores on rainy days, and she said “A half truth is a whole lie.”

On that subject she also said “There are no little white lies. They’re all big, black lies.”

She said “If someone thinks differently of you because of how you look, or what you have or don’t have, they aren’t the kind of friends you want anyway. A true friend loves you for who you are.”

She also said “Don’t listen to music that you don’t want to have playing in your head when you’re 50.” (I should have listened to that one.)

I’m sure my siblings could add many more; I think my mom is pretty quotable.

The question I’ve been thinking about is this… what am I saying today that will one day be quoted by my children?

This thought is a bit paralyzing to a chronic overthinker like me. But I think it should give me pause. It’s a question worthy of my consideration.

I have been trying to notice patterns, things I often say to my children. My oft repeated words seem to be “shhhhhh” “slow down!” “Please don’t jump on my 37 dollar couch,”and other not-very-interesting things. If quotability is an inherited trait, it skipped a generation. I have some pretty quotable children. 😃

One of my children did come running to me recently, saying “Mama! Papa is carrying a baby calf to the barn! I know you always say he is the cutest thing when he carries calves around, so thought you’d want to see him!” So I guess I’ve said that a few times. 🤣

Another thing I say over and over to my children is the advice I heard from a minister’s wife, amid church conflict, but it works well for children’s conflict too…

“No matter what they say or how they make you feel; make sure that all they see flowing from you is Jesus!”

This, they hear over and over like a broken record. This may be the one quote they can share someday that actually sounds like their mom was a grownup. But it’s definitely not original with me.

As I think about it, I wonder if that’s not the key.

If I want them to have lots of wisdom to carry into adulthood, I had better redouble my efforts at committing scripture to memory. Being filled that way, I can be pouring over into their little minds, wisdom straight from the Source; and when they say “my mama always said…” they will be quoting not me, but Jesus.

And maybe I’ll listen more to others, too, and see if I can’t pick up a few good pointers along the way, to pass on to my little ones.

Originally this wasn’t supposed to be a Mothers Day post, but I’ve been jotting down my thoughts for a few weeks, and now here we are, two days after Mother’s Day. Today is also Daddy’s birthday. Seems right to pay some tribute to my parents while I’m here.

The older I get, and the older my children get, the more I realize what wonderful parents I had. Perfect? No, they were/are human, but they did what I think must have been the three most important things.

1. They loved each other. They didn’t do this perfectly, but they didn’t try to hide their little conflicts and make us think marriage is a world of perfect agreement. They let us see them apologize to one another and they kept going. Onward and upward.

2.They loved us. And they didn’t just expect us to figure it out on our own. They made sure we knew it. I remember rolling my teenage eyes at Daddy’s frequent “I love yous,” but if they had stopped, I would have wondered.

3. They loved Jesus. They showed us this in so many ways. I don’t think I know anyone more generous. I remember multiple instances of Daddy bringing home a check for a load of hay he sold, and quietly instructing mom to make sure it went to some family in need. They never made a big deal about it, or even told us what they were doing. They just freely gave of their hard-earned and much-needed income, to bless others.

I will never forget the day I was digging around in the storage room and found a box of several very worn out Bibles. My mom wasn’t too much older than me at the time, yet she had worn out several Bibles. I’m still impressed.

Someone else is turning a year older today. Cory and my dad have the same birthday, and Cory turned 34 today! (We blinked and we’re middle aged, but anyway…)

Y’all don’t want to hear me gush and go on about him all day. So I’ll try not to do that. But I do suggest marrying someone you still have a crush on when you’re middle aged. 🤣

He takes such good care of us, and I’m so grateful to God for giving him to us. He said for his birthday present, all he wants is for me to write down all the recipes I have in my head, so he can cook them. I think I will keep him around. 🙂