WebMD Community Talk Show

I have to join in on this one....

From my mother:
A very strong work ethic and how to manage money well. Both my parents were always hard workers and, though they taught frugality, we never wanted for anything and that frugality really paid off for them later in life. That example REALLY helped me in every aspect of my own life.

From my mother-in-law, now passed:
Unconditional love and how to be an awesome grandmother. It's her example I follow now that I am myself a grandmother.

I'm looking forward to reading responses from others.

Good work ethic. She would work overtime when required with no complaint. There were times when she'd start at 8a, get off at 4a and be back at work by 9a and then worry that she was late.

Not having a uterus doesn't make you less of a woman. She had a hysterectomy over 30 years ago and never regretted it. Her sister actually asked her if it made her feel less of a woman and she honestly said no.

My Mother is the Best. She taught me how to sew at the age of 13. She had made all my clothes until then but I kept complaining about the little Peter-Pan collars and puffy sleeves that teen-agers no longer wore. She said it was about time I learned how to sew. She had no idea what a monster she created. LOL. All I wanted to do from then on is sew. Now at the ripe old age of 72--I have made many more quilts than I can count-- make all my own pants--shirts--dresses and etc. I have taught my grand-daughters how to make quilts of all sizes.

I now have a shop where I sell all quilted items ranging from baby bibs--quilts--pot-holder-quilted purses and you name it.

She also taught me to be very frugal with my money and to always figure out how to have your OWN money. If you want something, then save your money and do not put it on the credit cards. Of course, in her day they did not charge things.

I will always be so grateful she took the time and trouble to teach me many things about life.

Since I have an extensive extended family I realize just what an Awesome Mother I have. She is very compassionate and always caring for others beyond herself. She has been a super grand-mother to my children. I remember when my kids were younger she told me," I will baby-sit on my terms not yours!" What she meant was she would be happy to have my kids but NOT if I was going out to the local taverns. Which I never did.

My hope in life is to be half as great of a mother, grand-mother and friend as my mother has always been in her life.

Thanks for a great topic.

Jan

Oh, how I love positive issues to focus on! Thanks!!

Mom...Gosh, I was so fortunate to be blessed with great parents...Not saints!!! That would have been so boring and they were far from boring! We fought and screamed and loved and laughed and shared and survived and honored each other!

Mom...Now she was a real wonder! To begin with she was extremely intelligent, but due to finances, she was not able to go to college. And I believe that as a result, her entire life she went from one challenge to another in some sort of attempt to keep her active mind constantly stimulated. She'd take on one project/issue, conquer it and move on to the next. Domestically, she became an expert cook, seamstress, candy maker, and tie designer to name a few.

Her heart had pulled her toward nursing, but not having the education for a career, it instead became a vocation. I recall her constantly assisting family, friends, neighbors, whomever might be in trouble. They knew she would always help.

Manual labor also fell to her as she worked right beside Dad when he took on household repairs and remodeling. Though Dad was a very hard worker, he was not known for perfectionism, and Mom would always be right behind him "correcting" the project!

In her younger days she and her good friend decided to become private detectives...They were hired and lasted all of one day as the individual they were following, came to their car and told them how poorly they were doing the job!

Mom later became one of the first insurance saleswomen ever hired in our area. I am sure it was both her intellectual abilities as well as her friendly outgoing personality that made her extremely successful.

Oh, how I wish I could tell all that she did and was and continues to be for all of us who had the happy priviledge of sharing life with her. And from all of this, what did I take away? Most likely more than I am even aware!

Hopefully, I took her positive attiude! Even when times were rough, I saw her not only find a way through the bad times, but a way !o keep a positive outlook. She never let things get her down!

I spoke of laughter...Our house was filled with laughter and silliness. Mom aged, but she never got old...and her humor was at the root of that miracle!

Sadly, she did not have a good childhood as her mother was very cold and distant. By some absolute and wonderous quirk of fate, Mom instinctively overcame that role model and loved freely and fully, giving me the childhood denied her.

I am indebted to her for so much!

Thanks, Mom!!

Rachael

Spreadsheets in the hands of a woman can be dangerous...

How to be a man!!!!!!!!!! No father around.

MY MOM TAUGHT ME ABOUT EATING HEALTHY AND DIETING. THO I'M OBESE RIGHT NOW DUE TO MEDS AND LACK OF EXERCISE DUE TO MANY ISSUES SHE REALLY KNEW HOW TO COUNT CALORIES AND TO THIS DAY THAT IS HOW I LOOSE WEIGHT.
SHE ALSO WAS A GREAT COOK. SHE CANNED AND I HELPED HER WITH THAT. SHE WAS A WONDERFUL GRANDMOTHER EVEN THO SHE WAS A VERY NEGLIGENT MOTHER. I KNOW SHE DID HER BEST.
SHE TAUGHT ME HOW TO COUNT OUT CHANGE AND SHE WAS VERY PROUD OF THAT BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT GOOD IN MATH AND SO THIS FEAT WAS A VERY STRONG CHARACTERISTIC TO HAVE. I TAUGHT MY OWN KIDS (IMAGINE THAT IN THIS DAY AND AGE) HOW TO COUNT OUT CHANGE AND NOT RELY ON A MACHINE TO DO IT FOR YOU!
I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT FOOD PREPARATION AND MOTHER EARTH FROM BOTH MY PARENTS.

My mom taught me that truth is always best. When I was a kid, I found out pretty quickly that if I told the truth I might get in trouble, but if I lied and my mom found out the reckoning was MUCH worse.

She would take every opportunity to talk to me and my siblings about being truthful, and it was one of the first lessons I wanted to instill in my own kids.

The next best thing I learned from my mom was a great work ethic. We had chores from the time we were old enough to take responsibility, and my mom was strict about them being done every day. There was no fun until chores were done. I believe that it taught me to be a responsible person.

I love reading the stories about all of your moms! So inspiring.

Butterfly

I was not close to my Mom growing up but as I got older we started to become close, then I lost her. She did teach me to be fair, watch my money, good work ethics and family is very important. I wish I had more time with her.

Happy Mother's Day to all who are mothers!!

My mother-in-law is wonderful. My wonderful wife is a fantastic mother to our two sons, ages 20 and 22.

Here is a tribute to my mother that I posted in the WebMD Alzheimer's Community a few days ago:

My mother passed away on September 22, 2000 from heart failure at age 82. She was12 years older than my dad.

My mother was a 4' 11" strong woman. Her parents and 3 of her 5 sisters immigrated from Poland in the early 1910's, several years prior to her birth in Buffalo, NY. My grandparents never learned English and I vividly remember the family having conversations that I never understood.

As with many people, the fondest memories I have of my mother are in the kitchen. She was an excellent cook and baker, and delighted in having lots of family over and feeding them. Christmas cookies were the highlight of the year for her. She started making doughs in September and produced more cookies than any bakery I know. The cookies were given as gifts each year and tasted better than those from any gourmet shop. My mother made at least 20 or 30 varieties - cut-outs (dark ginger and regular sugar), bars, drop cookies, thumb-prints, etc. At Christmas time each year I get a strong craving for cut-out cookies. I've searched and just can't find the taste I grew up with. What I have now realized is that I am craving my mother's cut-out cookies.

Every Saturday night we would have steak, salad with thousand island dressing, french fries (crinkle cut, of course) and butterflake biscuits. My mother would use her two large cast-iron frying pans to render the steak fat and fry the steaks while a third was in use to deep-fry the french fries.

My mother taught me many things. She taught me to use both hands when doing tasks because that's why God gave me two hands. She taught me to never give up. She taught me to persevere through any trial. My mother had severe arthritis throughout her body and especially her spine. She baked all those cookies and cooked those fabulous meals despite high levels of chronic pain. Finally in her 70's she gave up baking and gave me all of her cookie cutters. Those are a treasure stored in our cabinet now, and each one has a special memory.

My mother never graduated from high school, but did go to cooking school for a few years. Even without a diploma I considered my mother to be a genius. She had more common sense and clarity of mind than many folks with doctorate degrees.

I do my best in life to emulate many of the qualities my mother had. Unfortunately, I inherited the high levels of chronic pain due to arthritis and serious spine problems, but I try to rise above circumstances and survive just as my mother did.

My mother shared all of her values with me, taught me to cook and taught me to be use common sense. Most of all, my mother taught me to become the adult that I am and I will always be thankful for that.

Olivia, you know what is great about this topic? For those of us whose Moms are no longer with us, we can not only take a few moments to say "thank you" to very special ladies, but we all get the chance to introduce them to everyone else!! As long as we keep them in our minds and hearts and speak of them to others, they remain very much alive...Thanks for this opportunity!!

Blessings all.
Rachael

"Think positive and one door closing leads to another one opening."

At 74 she still works hard every day. She takes care of 8 horses feeding and cleaning. I tell hert to slow down, but it's not her way.

Momma taught me that the most important thing in your life is your family.My Momma always kept her family very close.She'd do anything at all to help any of us. I miss her so much. I Love You Momma. Happy Mothers Day.RIP

I wish that I had also had more time with my Momma. She was taken from this world way to soon...B4 her time.I wish you the very best.Have a nice weekend!