My Favorite Lessons I Learned from My Mom

            It is my sweet mom’s birthday today friends! I have been thinking a lot, especially lately, about how truly grateful I am for her. She is fiercely loyal to those in her circle, she loves our family unconditionally, she is incredibly patient, and she is firm in herself and her beliefs. I have learned so much from her over the past 27 years and I thought I could pass some wisdom onto you. So, in honor of her birthday, here are my favorite lessons I have learned from my mom.

Always give others the benefit of the doubt.

This used to drive me absolutely BANANAS when I was younger. I would be chatting with my mom about problems I was having at school or with friends and she would COME TO THE DEFENSE of what was bothering me. Now that I am older, I am so appreciative of this lesson. Without coming out and saying it, my mom was teaching me to believe in the good in people and that people in general have good intentions. She was teaching me to look at the positive side of the situation and to put myself in someone else’s shoes. She was teaching me EMPATHY. And being able to be empathetic and see things from other people’s side is SO important.  She was teaching me to give others GRACE.

Be Patient, with Yourself and With Others.

I am the oldest of 4 kiddos. And four kiddos means A LOT of work. A lot of grocery trips with 4 mouths to feed, a lot of soccer practice drop offs, a lot of cheer competitions, a lot of baseball games, a lot of parent teacher conferences, and a lot of patience. We had to have done about a million things a day to drive her absolutely crazy growing up.  We were all good kids, but we were absolutely all handfuls. Honestly, it probably drives her a little crazy when I call once a week to ask her how to cook chicken in the oven because I have already forgotten what she said last time she told me. She was and is still patient with me. And I learned to try and be patient with others. And patient with myself.

Have a Savings Account

I know this one may sound like a no brainer, but hear me out. This one I owe to both my mom and my dad. When I got my first real job in high school, I swear to you I blew through every single paycheck I got. Want to know something embarrassing? I spent WAY too much of it on clothes from Forever 21. LOL AT ME. Where are those flowy tribal print tank tops now you ask? They have all fallen apart. My parents are both SO incredibly financially responsible and taught me to always make sure I had money in the bank in case of emergencies.

Always Make Others feel Welcome in Your Home

My mother is the hostess with the mostess. SERIOUSLY. Still to this day, if Jordan and I call to come over she has some kind of snack put out for us. Any time any of my siblings have friends over she always has all kinds of goodies laid out, extra blankets in the family room, and greets everyone with a big hug. Both my parents do. I think this is why I am such a touchy person – I come by it so honestly. When we have big parties or get-togethers, which I know hasn’t happened in a while, she does everything but roll out the red carpet for people in her home. She makes everyone feel warm and happy to be there. She made our home the home we wanted to hang out at growing up. I hope I can be half of the host she is.

Love Others Well

My mom has never been the type of person to put herself first. We get on her sometimes about taking time and doing things for herself because she is constantly thinking of others. She is truly one of the most selfless people I know. Over the years observing her and my dad, her and her parents, and her and us kids, I have come to see how well she loves others. Her acts of selflessness and kindness make the biggest difference. Her and my dad both taught us to LOVE people. Not only to love them, but to love them WELL. To see them for who they are. To give them the same grace we would want to be given. To appreciate where they come from and who they are. And to love them where they are at. This lesson is the most important to me. Sometimes I am given a hard time for continuing to love and give people grace when it is not returned in the same way. And sometimes, I do it at the expense of my own peace, which is not something I would recommend. But here’s the thing friend, my mom loves people the same way. And it is truly one of my favorite things about her. And I hope I can set the same example when Jordan and I have a family of our own one day.

I feel like I could go on and on and this blog post could probably be about a million pages long. I have learned so much from my mom in the past 27 years. I couldn’t even dream of putting everything on paper. I swear it would take me the rest of my life to write. But I am so happy to share these five lessons that I learned from her with you today. I know I am a little bias, but she is the best mom in the world.

This one is for you, Mom. I love you so much. Happy Birthday!