Mom's Best Advice
Tuesday, July 01, 2008  by Cindy Droog

What’s the best advice your mom ever gave you?


It may be impossible to pinpoint just one thing. That’s why, despite the hundreds of times I’ve read that very same question on a web site or in a magazine, I’ve never responded. Until today.

My mom once told me to “just say no.” Not to drugs. Not to peer pressure. (Although, I’m quite sure she meant for the phrase to apply to those things, too.)  She told me to say no to two things: my first offer of employment and my first proposal of marriage.

Thanks, Mom!

Much to the dismay of an advertising agency in New York City – and a very sweet guy named Matt – I listened. Still, I think about them both on rare occasions, and hope they are content. And when I hear today’s “lyric of the day” from Jimmy Buffett, in a song he wrote for his daughter, I’m reminded that it won’t be long before I’ll be ditching out advice, too, and praying that some of it is worthy:

“Sometimes I catch her dreaming, and wonder where that little mind meanders.
Is she down along the shore, or strolling across the broad savannas?

I know in time she'll learn to make up her own mind; in time she's gonna learn to fly.
That I won't deny”

So I ask again: what’s the best advice your mom – or maybe even your favorite singer – ever gave you?


Comments

# Susan said on July 1, 2008 6:19 PM:
Hi Cindy! You've often heard me speak of my mother. She's the best! And, like many moms, she is full of advice -- much of it has been wise and helped me become the person I am today. Some of it, I didn't listen to and I wish I would have. Here are a few gems from someone who has my love, appreciation, and respect: Always have at least one goal in mind. You gotta have goals, something to work towards in life. Always hold your head up high and sit up straight. (Anyone who knows me knows I hold my head up but my posture is lousy--darn, I should have listened to mom!) Always bring "mad money" on a date in case you get in an uncomfortable situation and need to call home. (Now kids bring their cell phones.) Don't take life too/so seriously. Smile! (And y'know, you'd look even better if you wore lipstick.) Okay, so I don't sit up straight. I felt so tall when I was young so I slumped. Can't seem to break that bad habit but mom still loves me. I wear makeup but rarely do more than gloss on the lips. (Sorry, mom. No lipstick.) But I sure love to smile. And I always do when I see you. Does that count? Thanks, Cindy, for reminding me (and all of us) about the wise (and whimsical) advice moms often share with their kids. P.S. I think Graham Nash wrote a song that had a line in it that says: And in the end, remember, it's with you you have to live. That line runs through my mind often when I am about to make a decision that will have good/bad/life-changing consequences I will need to accept and live with ... and if I think I am being true to myself -- able to be at peace with my decision and its afterglow.
# Dan O. said on July 7, 2008 8:17 AM:
The first thing that comes to my mind is something my grandmother actually does so well. Her people skills are amazing, and she's truly a role model in that regard, always focusing on the positive and building people up. What I learn from her is not from what she's directly told me but by her example. By that I mean, whenever I call her she's just so excited I would call, and she always ends our call lifting me up and telling me how great I am and that she believes in me. I used to sell kitchen cutlery, and she bought some, and she's always bringing up how great it is, and how she thinks about me whenever she uses it. So she's constantly affirming the good things I've done, and telling me how awesome I am. She's like my #1 cheerleader. *that* is the magnetic personality I'm developing myself. She doesn't ever "Call me out" on things I'm doing wrong, only affirms the things I'm doing right. I love it.
# Cindy Droog said on July 8, 2008 8:20 AM:
Dan - Thank you for that great comment! It's very timely, as I was just thinking of one of my grandmothers, Nadine, this morning on the way to the office.(She passed away in 2005.) Nadine was shy of five feet tall (like me), and whenever I'd share a problem with her, she'd say, "Remember, you may be little, but you're strong." She lived that saying to the fullest; in fact, a few months before she died, at age 88, she fought off three or four rattle snakes (with a hoe!) that came near her dog. Grandmothers are heroes in my book!
# NormaConnolly said on July 9, 2008 5:38 AM:
My mom drillled honesty to me and thats why I love quixtar

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