As a mother I know that it is my sacred duty to help my children navigate through this thing we call life. I try to gift them with little pearls of wisdom every chance I get and I know that they are taking these shiny gems of advice and tucking them away in their hearts. <\/p>\n
As I was growing up my own sweet mother would often bestow little nuggets of wisdom upon my humble head. She had one in particular that was her favorite and this is how it would usually go:
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\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mom,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said child. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m feeling tired.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You need to go and eat an egg,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Mom. <\/p>\n
Or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mom, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m feeling a little lonely today,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said child.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Then you should probably go and eat an egg,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Mom. <\/p>\n
If my memory serves me correctly there was a loud scratching noise like a needle being ripped off a vinyl record and I looked at my mom and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Huh?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Go and eat an egg. They are good for you and you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t eat enough of them.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Was this her dastardly way of getting me to eat eggs? Why would she even say this to me when she knew how much I hated eggs? Usually I would just say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Uh never mind, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fine.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And go on my merry way.<\/p>\n
Now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure that the number of times my mom gave me this advice has been greatly exaggerated in my mind but looking back on my childhood it seemed like it was her solution to EVERYTHING.<\/p>\n
A few years later when I was in college and a good friend of mine was telling me some sad story about her life I said to her, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If I were my mom I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d tell you to go eat an egg.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Really,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d my friend asked. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s answer to all of life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s troubles was to take a brisk walk.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
We both laughed and talked about how maybe our lives would be so much better if we started eating eggs and taking brisk walks at the same time.<\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fast forward to present day where I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m trying really hard to be a good mom to my children. One of the most frequent complaints I hear from my little kids is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My tummy hurts.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d How as their mother do I take care of this issue nebulous issue? Well, I start thinking of why someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tummy might be hurting and the number one problem that comes to my mind is that they probably need to go poop or, as we like to lovingly call it our house they need to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153clear the chute\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
The other things that I often deal with as a mother are the little aches and pains of my children. More frequently than I ever thought possible my they come to me and say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My toe\/nose\/elbow\/eyeball hurts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. To this I usually say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably tired, you should go and take a nap.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t until my children started to come up and say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mom my tummy hurts and no I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to poop\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that I decided that maybe I need to get some new advice. Just the other day Geoff looked at me and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think a good epitaph for your headstone would be \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcShe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone to clear the chute and take a nap\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Hhhmm\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I guess I need to come up with some better bits of wisdom to share with my family.<\/p>\n
Until then if you find yourself feeling sick\/sad\/lonely\/angry, then I suggest you eat an egg, take a brisk walk, clear the chute, and take a nap!<\/p>\n
What bits of advice did your mama give to you?<\/p>\n