By Glenys O'Connell ( @GlenysOConnell )
Even though we deal in dreams and fantasy, every now and
again Real Life intrudes even on the lives of fiction writers. I've just been
through such a patch, tossed around by a mischievous Universe, to land gasping
on the shore of what I hope will be a wee bit of peace and quiet. Time to write
again, please!
The result is that I've missed several of my Roses of Prose
blog dates. Gee, guys, I hope you missed me….Anyway, this means that I'm chasing my tail to catch up and so this blog post is quick and simple, inspired by the words of a friend who once told me: "Suddenly, out of the blue, I found myself talking (or yelling) at my kids in my mother's voice. OMG, it was very scary." Well, yes, been there, done that.
Mother's Day was one of the themes for this month and I'm
happy - and relieved - to say my kids remembered it with flowers, cards and
chocolate. Yes, they know my weaknesses well.
And then in church, the minister handed out these words of
explanation which I'm going to share with you now. I'm afraid I don’t know who
write them, but whoever you are, you are a very wise soul. So, here goes:
WHAT MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME:
My mother taught me RELIGION: When I spilled grape juice on
the carpet, she instructed: "You better pray the stain comes out."
My mother taught me LOGIC: From her decisive words: "Because I said
so, that's why."
My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear
clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.
My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep laughing, and I'll
give you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You'll sit there
'til all that spinach is finished."
My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks like a
tornado swept through your room."And last, but by no means least:
My mother taught me about the CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out…"
Yep, sometimes I've heard my Mother's voice when I've been talking
to my kids. Fortunately, they never did listen to me, so no harm done. Right?
So here's a belated Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out
there - may you speak in your own voice, but with the wisdom of all your
fore-mothers.
Glenys O'Connell has survived the growing up of all four of
her children, plus countless pets of all varieties. She thinks she's still
speaking in her own voice, except when she gets too involved with her imaginary
friends, er, characters. Her latest book, Naked Writing:The No Frills Way to
Write Your Book, is now available in print on Amazon, here
17 comments:
I'm so happy to hear life is smoothing out a few of the bumps in your road... And I'll add my mom's favorite piece of wisdom to your list: PATIENCE - Just wait until you dad gets home!
We did miss you, Glenys! Glad things are better for you. I loved your Motherisms list.
Jannine - love that! Patience, indeed....:-)
Aww, Laura, thanks! I felt terrible, missing my spots and a whole lot of other things, but family must come first, right? My mother never said that, though....
Glenys,
Loved the post! Nice to remember Mom at anytime!
Thanks, Jerri!
Those are fantastic lessons. I liked the one "Don't cry unless you're bleeding." LOL. Great post.
Thanks, Vicki - that's another to add to the collection :-)
You may think no harm was done - until your daughters are grown and you hear your mother's voice come from them.
I come from a military family. My mother taught me to make a bed tight enough to bounce a quarter by the time I was in first grade. Yeah, that came in handy.
My mother loved to sing and she had my sister and I doing three part harmony with good old fashioned songs. She also had a wonderful sense of humor, and I'm happy to note I've been told I have a good sense of humor too.
As she got older, she didn't have the stamina to whistle loudly, but she continued to do what I call the air whistle, which always made me chuckle. Recently, I caught myself air whistling.
Lord help me!
My mother always told me that I was like a cat, no matter what happened I always landed on my feet. I've carried that thought with me and remembered it during all the rough times when I lay winded and flat on my back. : )
Sandra - if you'd known my mother, you'd know what a scary thought that is! Fortunately, they're grown and seem to have their own voices - at least, so far! Thanks for commenting.
Lynne - your Mom sounds like a gem! Whistle away!
Robena - LOL! yeah, I guess that's the whole point of the list, that Mom definitely wasn't always right :-) Still, the thought helps you back onto your feet, yes? Thanks for visiting our blog.
Well, my mom "let" me do things, like clean my bedroom, dust the living room and she even "let" me do the dishes.
It's kind of a joke in my house that I "let" my family do things too. :)
Janice~
LOL, Janice, I think it's generous of you to 'let' your family do things like dusting...I did it with mine, too, until they grew wise to it :-)
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