[May 9, 2023 – Blog] I must admit, I am a self-proclaimed pack rat. I have numerous collections of all sorts of things from shoes to antique keys and locks. It is easy for me to get attached to items and hard to get rid of anything.
With Mother’s Day approaching and in the spirit of “spring cleaning,” I draw on some of my mother, Dottie Warren’s words of wisdom.
She would come over to visit and see me rifling through all of my “stuff” and say, “just toss it!.” I would reluctantly put a few items in a giveaway pile, just to satisfy her. Then after she left, I would put most of it back in its place. Looking back, I realize she was right on many levels. Too much clutter, both in our homes and in our minds, is not good. So in the sage words of Dottie, just toss it!
My mother was full of interesting and funny sayings. When I was feeling a bit down, she would say, “Gay, you just need to go have a good talk with yourself.” It pretty much always worked to get me back on track. She also said the best cure for the blues was a “little shopping trip.”
When things seemed to be too much to handle, she would use the famous quote, “This too shall pass” adding, “Fifty years from now, who is going to care?” when I was torn on whether or not to do something.
And finally, here is one saying I only heard from my mother and her Missouri kin folk. If someone didn’t have much common sense, they would say, “Well, he doesn’t have enough sense to pound sand in a rat hole.” Hmmm…..
As we celebrate our mothers and the hardworking women who raised us, I hope you celebrate their great advice and unique sayings. Many times, they are exactly the words we need to hear, whether at the time we like it or not.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers out there!
Humbled and proud to me a mom,
Gay Gaddis
Founder. Author. Artist. Trailblazer.
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