May 16, 2012

Things my mother taught me



My mother lived without me for 27 years when I was far away in Canada. What she taught me as a child still resonates with me today as she taught me discipline, honesty, compassion, patience, a hard one for me, and responsibility. Here are some of the things she taught me.


• How to make a good cup of tea by making it in a little kettle and having it with hot milk and a crushed cardamom.

• How to make tomatoes and eggs, a Sunday morning favorite made with braised tomato in the pan seasoned with chili and poached eggs on top of the base of tomatoes. It is still a favorite today, even by the ex husband.

• How to make good treats from scratch for my sixteenth birthday and how to make creamy chocolate cake.

• How to behave when I got my first period and she said to me, ‘my girl, from now on you must be careful when you play outside. Keep your legs together and don’t let anyone touch you’.

• How to protect yourself in a marriage by telling us girls that she wants us to be educated so that we can put our feet under our own table one day and never have to take a man’s crap.

• How to treat visitors when they come to the house by switching off the television and leaving the room so that there is no noise, and to make a pot of tea without being told.

• How to be friends with boys our own age by inviting them to the house for coffee and cake so she can take a look at them. She was a fun mother and enjoyed meeting our friends. She insisted however that they come to the house. That kept us out of a lot of trouble when party girls did not mean slut.

• How to be honest by always telling the truth and to remember that not saying something and leaving it out is the same as a lie.

• How to discourage a boy when he asks you to sit alone with him in the car and he tries something; keep your legs together and scream for help.


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