As my relationship with my Mother has moved from a strictly Daughter/Mom role to that of friends, I've discovered that her advice resonates a little bit more than it used to. For example:
At age 15:
"Those shoes are going to cause blisters."
"What? No way."At age 18:
"Come here and let me show you how to reconcile a bank statement."
"What? No way."At age 22:
"Don't you think that it's time to just call this relationship quits?"
"What? No way."At age 28:
"Moving to Scotland is going to be hard."
"What? No way."And so on and so forth. The great thing about time, however, is that it gives you a chance to start to look back over the garden of your life, examine the flowers, pull out the weeds, and take note of which plants are better suited to your climate. You pay attention to which ones should not be planted in certain seasons and others that need a little extra effort and care. It's also helpful to speak with an expert gardener.
So when I had a chance to use Mom as a sounding board this Christmas regarding some things in my life, I actually listened to her. She has common sense in spades, and I can certainly use a little more of that. She said two things in particular that I plan to take with me into the New Year:
1.
"Is this something worth fighting for?"And,
2.
"You're over committed. Pick three things you love and drop the rest."See, very simple yet sage advice for this harried little chick.
And I got a bonus from Grandma Sugar:
"Those heels are going to mess up your feet - look at mine."