Time to remember and celebrate Mom & those Mom-isms

"MOM. How could you?" We hear it all the time from our kids when they are upset with some Mom-ism we've said or something we've done. We might answer with this Mom-ism, "I do not need you telling me what to do!" But we try not to get defensive and reply that way. We put on our armor, try to smile and suck it up as we’ve learned the best Moms do. 

Why do such sayings spill forth so readily like emotions after years of silence? It may be because we heard our aging mothers say this retort when we told them they needed to eat better, see a doctor, stop driving, consider downsizing to one-story homes or to stop critiquing us. 

It got us thinking about all the clichés and verbal lessons we heard our mothers share when we were young, and even as we became adults, that had merit. Did we listen? When we were little, it was hard, and we closed our ears. Either we didn't believe what was said, it made no sense, it was said so often that it no longer had much meaning, or we resented the tone, which seemed to convey an order and a time frame of “Do it now!”

However, once we were adults and if we became a parent or grandparent, we knew some of those expressions held big truths. Ironically, we laugh about them since we know we may repeat the same sayings or at least find they regularly pop into our heads. Some of the Mom-isms, we try to avoid saying or catching ourselves if we quickly do. 

Mother's Day, which many will celebrate this Sunday, may be a Hallmark-inspired holiday, yet it seems like a good time to raise a glass and toast all moms--our own, daughters and daughters-in-law, stepdaughters, stepmoms, cousins who are moms and our friends who have been gifted this role and often taught us additional lessons as more objective guides. We know from experience, it's one of the hardest positions to take on, but certainly one of the most rewarding. We applaud Moms everywhere. And we certainly try to be sensitive to friends who are not Moms, either out of choice or because they didn’t want to be. It’s not a role for everyone. Yet, all of us were daughters or sons and have memories of our moms.

Please laugh along as we recall what our moms and, in some cases, our grandmothers said, and share with us what yours did, too, and which resonated, those that didn't and the ones that stuck with us. 

"The phone works both ways." 

"Rain before 7 (a.m.) stops before 11 (a.m.). 

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." 

"To hell with them." 

"If you have a book, you always have a friend." 

"It's better to give with a warm hand since there are no pockets in shrouds." 

"Comb your hair before you go out." 

"Have you written a thank-you note yet?"

“You’ve written that thank you note, haven’t you?” (repeated about 10 times)

"It's so lonely on Sundays." 

"Do as I say, don't do as I do." 

"Be inclusive. It's never good form to leave anyone out." 

"What did you do to your hair?" 

"When are you going to buy some (nice) clothes?" 

"Is that what you're wearing?" 

"How can you go out looking that way?" 

"You look like you've gained some weight. Have you talked to your doctor about this?"

"Why are you friends with them?" 

"Did you do your homework?" 

"Did you practice?"

“Did you practice long enough?”  

"I'm older than you and know best." 

"Always take a gift when you're invited to someone's home." 

"Eat your food!" 

"Drink all your milk." 

"You never order the most expensive items on the menu when you're taken out or splitting costs of a meal."

Do some of these Mom-isms sound familiar?

All Mom-isms were said in love and good faith. We know that now, but when our moms kept repeating them like a run-on sentence, "Take your elbows off the table," "Don't chew with food in your mouth," "Call your aunt or grandmother," "Clean up your room," and a litany of other directives, we let them go in one ear and out the other. Now we think it's funny how those stayed like unwanted guests in our heads and hearts. And we wish we could discuss them with our moms to learn if they felt the same way about what their mothers said.

Happy Mother’s Day to every one of our dear readers who is a Mom.

Next week: Spring has Sprung—ways to take advantage of this glorious time of year.