Regarding Marriage - what you love about them in the beginning could be what you hate later
Regarding kids - little kids, little problems - big kids, big problems
Regarding decisions - when your priorities are set, your decisions are easy
My mother taught me to cook well.
And while I may have no other redeeming qualities, I can always bring my family together for a delicious meal and a delightful conversation.
Thanks Mom!
Don’t date adult men who ride bmx bikes. (me to my daughter)
“Always wear clean underwear”
didn’t happen to me, but friend was in car accident and had pants cut up by EMT’s and had none on, lol
lets just say the crowd got a free show
Patience is a virtue…
But tenacity is a necessity.
My mom always said, “Life isn’t fair.” She was right. I said it to my kids, too (still do). Both mom & I followed that up with whatever was appropriate for the particular situation about which those words were uttered. There will always be times someone else got what you think you should have gotten, or you work so hard but it doesn’t seem to be paying off, or you do everything you are supposed to do but what you thought would happen doesn’t happen, or someone you love gets sick or dies … life isn’t fair. But it is worth the effort, worth the heartache, worth whatever you learn along the way.
I recently gave my daughter this advice, which she really seemed to appreciate: she had been using her own money to pay health insurance premiums but then started getting health insurance through work. So I told her that since she had gotten used to living without that $300 per month, just sock it away into her retirement fund and let it work! It had never occurred to her, and she thought it was a great idea!
Think our best advice came in the form of handing everyone a copy of Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover”. Stay out of debt. Learn to invest.
Never burn bridges. No matter how mad you may be. Do what you need to do to extricate yourself from a situation but bite your tongue as much as possible. Never vent to coworkers (your parents have open ears) Things change quickly. It’s a much smaller world than you can imagine.
Many already mentioned: Save your money. Don’t borrow or lend money. Bite your tongue (when tempted to criticize). Life isn’t fair (things can’t be divided equally among 7 kids). If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Don’t gossip. Plan ahead–always allow a little extra time for the unexpected.
When you are sick, don’t lie in bed–you’ll feel better if you get up, get dressed, get something to eat/drink, keep moving! (I think this is true.)
When someone is overly concerned that a small detail (of an outfit, for example) isn’t quite perfect–“Smart people won’t look so close. Dumb people will think it’s supposed to be that way.”
‘There but for the grace of God go I’ if tempted to criticise others for doing something disliked. It was my grandmother’s saying too.
From my son’s speech therapist when I was struggling while DH was deployed… “Whatever gets you through the day is ok. You don’t have to be perfect. Good enough is good enough.”
That was almost 17 years ago & I have carried it w/ me to this day. I just remember that it’s ok to cut myself some slack. I’m doing the best I can, and that’s good enough.
Life is a box of chocolates. You never know what you’ll get.
Errr, wait.
Was that my mother or Forrest Gump?
My mother likes to say “everything happens for a reason”. She also likes to say “everything comes in threes”. She used to, and maybe still does, believe in horoscopes. I never took my mother’s advice very seriously.
This was on my mom’s desk - “If you don’t have time to do it right now, when will you have time to do it over again?” I’m still not sure if we kids were supposed to see it, or if it was a reminder to her.
And one that I really like is: “Them that matter won’t mind, them that mind don’t matter.”
?
Put everything you can into the company’s 401k. Start saving early, it will compound through your life. No one at 22 wants to be forced to save out of their meager paycheck. But I did and she was right!!
From my Mom- always have health insurance. Pay your credit card in full each month.
To my kids- don’t spend money you don’t have. All three have embraced this philosophy and are good with their money.
What I wish they would do but haven’t done is to always have some cash in your wallet. Youngest has had at least two expensive bills from not having money for a bridge toll. When my D was in college she was going with another student to a horse show. They were in a truck pulling a horse trailer and had to cross the Bay bridge in Oakland. Between the two of them they had no cash. They thought the bridge would take a credit card. It was an expensive mistake. The fine plus the toll. She didn’t learn though as last week crossed another bridge and forgot to get cash. That 7 dollar toll ended up costing her $37.00. Finally last week crossed the same bridge and remembered to have cash.