10 Life Lessons That I Have Learned From My Mom

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10 Life Lessons That I Have Learned From My Mom

Originally, I had intended to publish this post on Mother’s Day, to honor my mom. However, life or rather, death happened and it derailed me mentally and creatively from doing so. Without further ado, here are 10 life lessons that I have learned from my mom over the years on frugality, humility, and tenacity. 

In full disclosure, I love my mom, I really do. However, my siblings and I everyone agrees that her quirks can be downright ridiculous and simply impossible to uphold for any regular human being. lol But I know you, you’re not regular, and I know you will appreciate these quirks too. 😉

1- Know Thyself.

Have integrity and do everything with good intention without expecting anything back in return. So often we are met with transactional folks who want to befriend us for their own benefit. Know who you are and use your best judgment to determine if the friendship is worth pursuing. But do not let yourself become a pawn in their personal game of chess. Sometimes it is better to be alone than to be in bad company. “Do not allow them to guilt you into their problems,” is one of my mom’s favorite mottos.

2- Do not rely on anyone instead be self-reliant.

Simply put, do not depend solely on others. “If you rely on others for everything, you will be met with inevitable disappointment each and every time.” Instead, hold yourself accountable for every decision you make in life so that you have control over your own destiny. Taking this a step further, create multiple sources of passive income so that you do not rely on one sole income. “You take care of you,” says Mom.

3- Homemade is best. 

Cooking is my mom’s love language, and boy oh boy does she love to cook! Since my mom came from a large family of 6 siblings, she is well-versed in meal planning and cooking for an army. This is one of the most important skills that my mom has passed down to me when it comes to living frugally.

4– Food is medicine.

Since she despises going to the doctor, my Mom always tells us to eat well and exercise instead, “Your body is your temple, treat it well and it will treat you well.”

My mom believes in natural healing remedies, eating the right foods can prevent many of the ailments. She loves to prepare foods using mainly fresh produce, the weirder the better. Think, a combination of the following: bitter melons, lotus roots, ginseng, fresh & dried herbs. If it happens to be on-sale, even better!

5– Housework counts as a workout. 

Up until recently, my mom has always believed that housework has always been the more superior physical activity than any sort of workout. That is until she was faced with empty nest syndrome and a coworker suggested she try doing Zumba to help pass the time. Lo and behold, she’s found herself a new hobby in a fun little dance workout called Zumba, who woulda thunk it?! My mom, that’s who! lol

6- Water cures most ailments.

I still get so annoyed with her whenever my mom nags me about drinking water. I mean, I have nothing against water and I understand all of the benefits of drinking it. It’s the universal solvent for very good reasons and I’m grateful for having clean access to it. However, the way my mom prepares it just makes me gag! She suggests that I drink it lukewarm after boiling it on the stove. (eww, tastes like spit!) I don’t know about you, but I prefer my water ice cold, thank you very much. 

7- Be your family’s guinea pig.

The rite of passage for any real mom, according to only MY mom, is for the mom to perform the ultimate sacrifice and sample/taste everything before she feeds it to her child. Because you know, just in case, her baby becomes sick or dies, the mom would bare the brunt of the stick and know the exact cause of her child’s symptoms. This is what she tells me. To which I would remind her that if I were to die in her little scenario that she would be reliving the teenage years with her grandchildren this time! 😉 (bwahahaha!)

8- Tenacity: Everything gives you cancer.

Unless it is organic, my mom believes that everything will give you cancer. Lol This was especially sobering for me when I first learned about my own cancer scare. Since I was allergic to all of the conventional drugs that were used to treat my cancer, it became more imperative for me to watch my dietary intake even more closely than I usually do.

9- Frugality: Save first and spend only when necessary.

My mom is known for being quite savvy with her finances and credits it to living frugally. She is constantly harping on my siblings and I to save for a rainy day even when you don’t think you have enough. “It is best to build yourself a good cushion so that you will have a soft landing when you have a fall.” 

10- Humility: Live modestly.

Do not be fooled by flashy clothes, fast cars, and big houses. “Live within your means and you will have everything you ever need. For that is the true definition of living a rich life full of good fortunes.” Thanks, Mom! 🙂

In Summary:

Look, all jest aside, I love my mom. She brings out the Tiger Mom in me when it comes to my parenting skills, and even that can have its merits some days too. 

But more than anything, I admire her heart and her resilience to keep toughing it out whenever life gets hard. 

Long story short, I would not become the woman I am today without her tough love, her guidance, and her good dose of humor to boot!