A Mother's Wisdom

Throughout the ages, mothers have passed their wisdom down from one generation to the next. These are some of the – wise old sayings – my mother passed down to me. Although I vowed, during those rebellious teenage years, never to repeat such stupid things to my kids; I did, I have, and I still do.

Perhaps your mother shared these same words, or maybe she had her own versions. Feel free to share your own – words of wisdom – leave your comments and feedback, and of course, vote me up!

The virtues of hard work

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

(As quoted from Poor Richard’s Almanac, and penned by, Benjamin Franklin)

A lazy man may slumber and sleep; but when he wakes up, what shall he eat?

Can’t never could (The grammar may stink, but the meaning is clear.)

Can’t went out in the corn field and died. (I would have never understood this one had it not been for the fact that my family grew up in Nebraska)

Wait’s what broken the wagon down. (An obvious play on words, but we knew when mom said this, we better not tarry)

The early bird catches the worm (Another quote from Poor Richard’s Almanac, but often quoted by mother)

A stitch in time saves nine (As quoted from Poor Richard’s Almanac, I think she must have read, or heard these a lot)

God helps them that help themselves

Neither a borrower or a lender be (I think this particular quote was taken from Poor Richard’s Almanac, but it is also found in the Bible)

The wisdom I learned about growing up

Beauty is only skin deep, the true beauty of a person comes from the heart.

Ladies do not cross their legs, except at the ankle.

A guest at someone’s home never asks for anything, and if offered something, takes only one. A polite person NEVER asks for seconds.

A guest in your home gets to choose what game to play and / or T V show to watch (I know, I never could figure out the last two either. They seem to cancel each other out)

Children are to be seen and not heard.

Children are not to speak unless spoken to. (I used to think these were simply hideous and on the verge of abusive, until I had to endure unruly and ill mannered children)

Children should never be allowed in their parent’s bedroom (When I was growing up, we were never allowed past the doorway)

If Mother said no, it was useless to go ask Father.

If Father said no, it was a sure whipping to go ask Mother.

Mother is always right

If you ask any parent “why?” The answer will always be, “Because I said so.”

Tough Love is toughest on the one administering it.

 

Wisdom on marriage and relationships

 

A good marriage is hard work, every day, by both parties.

 

Marriage is not a 50 / 50 proposition; it is both husband and wife giving 100% all of the time.

 

A successful marriage is team work.

 

Children don’t fix a bad marriage, they make a miserable family.

 

Don’t let the sun go down on your anger (This can be found in the Bible, and also in Poor Richard’s Almanac, I believe)

 

The best part of a fight is making up.

 

Keep your husband satisfied in the bedroom and happy in the kitchen, and he won’t roam.

 

Compromise is a strong instrument.

 

Sometimes it’s better to say “I’m sorry” and know you did nothing wrong.

 

Sometimes standing your ground results in cracking your foundation

 

A house divided against its-self cannot stand (As spoken by President Abraham Lincoln during his speech at Gettysburg)  

 

A wife should never go through her husband’s wallet or a husband through his wife’s purse. (I’ve added cell phones to this)

 

Mother’s wisdom about life in general

 

Trash comes in all sizes, colors and outfits.

 

If you hang around with trash, you start to stink like trash

 

You have to be a friend to make a friend

 

You will have many acquaintances but only a few real friends

 

Blood is thicker than water and family is all you got.

 

Never loan money, or do business with family. (Another one of those that cancels its-self out)

 

Company and fish are a lot alike, after 3-days you’ve got to throw them out

 

Don’t point your finger at anyone’s mistakes, you have three pointing back at you

 

Make sure your words are sweet; you may have to eat them some day

 

Honey attracts more flies than vinegar (I never understood why anyone would want to attract flies in the first place)

 

Choose your battles and battlegrounds carefully

 

Kill your enemies with kindness

 

A soft answer turns away angry words (This is from the Bible)

 

If you fail to plan, plan to fail

 

Poor prior planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

 

There is no such thing as a good excuse.

 

There is no such thing as a stupid question.

 

Life is meant for living and living is always growing and changing

 

Look at the glass half empty and you will never be happy, Look at the glass half full and you will always be content.

 

Contentment is not getting what you want, but wanting what you’ve got.

 

Be who you are, be proud of who you are and don’t try to be anyone else.