In reading some recent blogs I came across one that I found interesting – “8 Lessons I Learned from my Parents,” by Kim Hays with the Orlando Sentinel. Interestingly enough, the idea for her blog was borne from another blog by Allison Gilbert with the Huffington Post – “Top 10 Lessons I Learned From My Parents (Before They Died),” but Kim admitted in her blog that some of the lessons were not very warm and fuzzy.  

My first thought was “What a great idea – honoring your parents by pointing out what they have taught us now that we are older and have kids of our own!” I decided to write my own blog about this topic. 

Here are some things that my parents taught me: 

1 – Never depend on anyone else – you have to make your own decisions and live with the consequences. 

2 – Nothing will get done unless you do it – or try to do it. 

3 – Life is an adventure and you can only live it one day at a time. Trying to worry about the future will not help and worrying about the past will not give you the opportunity to change things. 

4 – You can do anything you put your mind to. 

5 – Always acknowledge your mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day. (This came from Kim’s blog, but I wholeheartedly agree!) 

6 – Always respect the authority of your parents even if you do not agree with them, and make sure you respect other parents’ authority by referring to them as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” (insert last name here). (From Allison’s blog) 

7 – Always stay out of the sun! We all need vitamin-D; however, if you look at my mother’s 68-year-old-face, you would not believe that she is that age! 

8 – Be mindful of the words you use; most are sharper than swords. 

9 – Save your money for a rainy day, but don’t miss opportunities for fun! 

10 – Then there’s my dad’s favorite: “If you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.” (A quote I later learned my father borrowed from Groucho Marx) 

I enjoyed reading Allison’s and Kim’s blogs because it gave me an opportunity to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned and the lessons I can teach my daughter. What are the lessons your parents taught you?

Tags: Allison Gilbert, Groucho Marx, Huffington Post, Kim Hays, Lessons, Orlando Sentinel, Parents

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