Top Ten Things I Learned From My Mom

May 11, 2014  /  Amy Boukair

1.      I can do anything I put my mind to, so long as I do the work.
2.      I can be anything I want to be; no dream is too big.
3.      If I don’t expect anything, I won’t be disappointed – but not to give up hope.

4.      I am strong willed, and strong minded, but also strong hearted.

5.      My life will be hard, but it’s okay for me to be weak sometimes.

On the lighter side:
6.      How to play bridge (she was a Life Master ranked player, and unfortunately I’ve already forgotten how to play).
7.      A love for sports, books, word games and trivia (she encouraged me to try out for Jeopardy!; which I did).
8.      How to gamble and smoke (yea, yea, not the highest compliment).
9.      How not to cook (she was passable at best, and never used a spice other than Mrs. Dash).
10.   How to be a night owl. (I would regularly stay up with her to watch Johnny Carson. For the longest time, I couldn't get to sleep without hearing “Heeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Johnny!” To this day I prefer nocturnal activity to diurnal).

As with all Moms, there was good mixed with bad. It’s part of the human experience. As I get older and nostalgia kicks in, the bad starts to make less of an impression than the good - which is how it should be. Not a Mother’s Day goes by that I don’t miss her terribly.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom