May 9 - 10(ish) Things My Mother Taught Me.

In honor of Mother`s Day...

1. My mother taught me patience and forgiveness. Unfailing patience.


2. My mother taught me to give others the benefit of the doubt. Always.


3. My mother taught me anything is possible; figure it out; the answer is “I can’t” far less than you think.


4. My mother taught me history is interesting and enriching and worth understanding. She has an amazing understanding of world history and people and events, all in context. As much as I used to be annoyed by her stories and explanations as a kid, or act like I didn’t care, I love them. (Why are we so lame as kids/teenagers? Ugh..)


5. My mother taught me to be generous with those around you. I’ll never forget the generosity she showed my best friend Summer while we were growing up. I didn’t understand just how much that meant.


6. My mother taught me math isn’t hard or scary.


7. My mother taught me “you can’t hurry love.”


8. My mother taught me compassion for those who are dying. Her father, her step-father, her mother, her sister. Remarkable.


9. My mother taught me understanding the Who, What, Where and When of a situation is all we can do. Trying to figure out Why is when we get into trouble, because we can’t really know Why.


10. My mother taught me the value and importance of trust.


11. My mother taught me to love to travel the world, explore new people and places. She also taught me you can learn a lot about a place by seeing how they interpret “pizza” or “chinese food” or “mexican food”, not just by seeing their own native food.


12. My mother taught me that quality is important. And quality items should be valued and held on to (like that one time she saved Grandma’s linens from the consignment shop).


13. My mother taught me fabrics should be worn in the proper season. Summer should not see courduroy.


14. My mother taught me, by example, how to love. Spouse, children, siblings, grandchildren, etc. Her capacity to love is astonishing.


15. My mother taught me, by example, how to read people and understand their thinking.


16. My mother taught me the value of family traditions.


17. My mother taught me to accept callings, even when they are hard. (Gospel doctrine teacher in the La Canada 1st ward with Mark Willes for FOUR YEARS? Sounds scary to me.)


18. My mother taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Photos by Justin Hackworth.