Things My Mother Taught Me...

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