A Lesson From Mom And The Wooden Spoon 5/8/2022

 Good Morning,

I am glad to be here today and enjoying a hot cup of Door County Jamaican Blue Mountain Blend Coffee. It will be nice and warm today and I will be enjoying the day immensely. 

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long. 

James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. 

Today being Mothers Day I thought I would pass on a lesson my mother tried to instill in us and I am not so sure we listened enough. I am grateful for my mom and miss her dearly. I am also grateful for all the women who mothered me over the years. I had some wonderful aunts and grandmothers who played valuable roles in my life and I enjoyed many years of good times with them. In their own way they impacted me and I learned from them some lessons for life.

Back to a lesson from Mom.  She would often correct me with this phrase. "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all".  This phrase applied to many things. It could be that I was talking poorly about someone else or just plain old complaining about something.  Her special phrase was a warning shot, because the next phrase was full of business. "Stop it or I will give you something to talk and complain about". This was usually accompanied by the wooden spoon coming out of the drawer and placed strategically in a spot where my "Wooden Spoon Gun  Fighter could draw it like Wyatt Earp would draw his six shooter and silence what she also called a sassy mouth. 

So in thinking this through today, I have to admit that as of late, I haven't been too positive with my words to and about others and I have been complaining too much. It's time for me follow some great advice from Mom and from another guy who coined the phrase, "Take A Big Drink Of Shut Up Juice". Better yet, I need to be looking for things that are good about all people and acknowledge those things with words of respect and love. I need to remember that I have many blessings and complaining about everything is just not a way to be heard in this world. 

So Mom, you spoke wisely and when we meet again some day I just want you to know that I listened. It just took a long time to hear! Mom liked lilac bushes and I see some that are ready to blossom.

Have a great day.

Marty