…My boyfriend and I were talking about getting married after almost 2 years of long-distance dating. My mom told me that anybody could be nice for a weekend and we should at least live in the same city before we made that commitment! I found a job there and moved to his city. In a few months, I realized he wasn’t who I thought he was! Such good advice!
My mom used to say that you can’t tell how something looks on the hanger, you need to try it on. She was not wrong.
He gets one chance to hit you. If he ever uses it, leave. Right away.
My most memorable line from my mom came as she sent me on a 5 hour drive by myself to college orientation. “If you’re not smart enough to figure it out by yourself, you don’t need to be there.” I managed just fine.
Not sure about my own, but I always tell mine when they go out “Be smart, be safe, and have fun.”
If you’re going to do it anyway, do it graciously.
When you hold a grudge against someone, you’re letting them live rent-free in your head.
Remember that annoying/obnoxious people have to live with themselves 24/7!
When DS2 was playing Oregon Trail, but universally applicable: “Remember, Honey, always try to budget enough for candy and a harmonica.”
“Tomorrow is another day.” Anyone else familiar with this? Its meaning is that if today is going poorly, you always have a fresh start tomorrow.
Mom to me: Try it (going away to college vs. commuting which was way more common in our area); if you don’t like it you can always come home, but if you don’t try it, you’ll always wonder ‘What if?’.
Which morphed into - Me to kids: Don’t close doors you can’t reopen.
“The things you worry about most never happen.”
I actually got much better advice from my father. For example, “This too shall pass.”
“Don’t question how other people raise their kids or spend their money.”
My very favorite quote: “At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don’t care what they think of us. At age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all.”
Another who heard “This too shall pass” frequently, only from my mom instead of my dad.
From my Mom (much to my H’s chagrin): Why go coach when first class is a nickel more?
Invite everyone. It costs very little to be nice so don’t exclude classmates.
Brown and gray do not match Do not wear gray socks with brown shoes.
@silverpurple “tomorrow is another day” is actually the last words of gone with the wind (book and movie) thought by Scarlett after the more famous “frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” spoken by Rhett
Never date a man you couldn’t marry. I assumed this meant never date someone that’s already married, but it has other uses. Don’t date someone that you can’t see yourself with – for whatever reason!
“If someone says bad things about people they probably talk about you the same way when you’re not around”
Never go to bed with a dirty kitchen. It’ll still be dirty in the morning.